The Guardians
by TenshiDaisy
Summary: Long after Crystal Tokyo the Earth is in trouble again, and new warroirs must save it along with a new planet, Virgo. CH 12
1. New beginning

Part 1: New beginning 

            Aiko watched the earth disappear into the void of space from her window.  She didn't move until the last glimpse of her home was no more then a memory.  After glancing around the nearly empty shuttle she reached into her bag for her electronic manga.  After finding the unit and the disk she wanted, she moved around in her seat.

            'Thank Kami-sama that they managed to save most of Naoko-san's manga and put it on MD' Aiko thought.  She loved the sailor Moon and Sailor V stories the best.  'I wish I was a beautiful mythical Super heroin.  Instead I'm stuck leaving my home for someplace I've never been.'

            "Kitoko-san, would you like anything to eat for dinner?" the stewardess looked at Aiko while asking.

            "I'll just have some water, thanks" Aiko sighed, 'even if they didn't look at seat numbers and tickets, anyone from Japan would probably know who I am.  Why did Mother have to go into politics?  I bet that's why she isn't here anymore.  Oh well, at least no one on Virgo will know me except for Grandma and Grandpa.  I wonder what they are like.'

            "Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking.  We will be lading on Saturn 1 colony in five hours, then we will be continuing on to Virgo.  Passengers headed for Virgo may stay on the shuttle.  Their will be a twenty five minute layover on Saturn, so make sure that you are back on the shuttle if your destination is Virgo."

            Aiko glanced around and could guess who was going to Saturn 1.  It was one of the few colonies that had been started before Virgo was discovered.  Since Virgo already had a livable environment the people of Earth thought it to be more desirable.  They didn't have to spend years making artificial habitations.  Work on the colonies slowed and at a basic maintenance level. Now scientists who found the different environments good for research inhabited them. 

            Aiko slowly opened her eyes as she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She looked up and saw the stewardess standing over her.  She hadn't even realized when she had started to doze off.

            "Kitoko-san, the shuttle will be landing in half an hour on Virgo.  You can start getting your things together, and use the restroom if you have to before we land.."

            "I'm fine, thanks. I didn't realize I had fallen asleep."

            "That's Virgo over there.  I tried waking you when we were landing on Saturn, but you were sound asleep"

            "That's all right, I've been to some of the colonies before with my Mother."

            "Ok.  See you later, I have to get ready for landing."

            "Ja"

            "Ja Ne"

            Aiko looked at the approaching planet out her window. 'It looks like satellite pictures of the 20th century Earth.  Virgo is so green.  It doesn't have that black-cloud like thing hanging round it like I saw today.'

            Aiko slipped her manga player back into her bag and zipped it up.  Once they had landed and docked, she pulled her other bag from the overhead compartment.

            "Sayonara and good luck Kitoko-san" the stewardess bowed as Aiko walked into the terminal.

            "Ja ne. By the way, where are you from?"

            "Osaka, Japan."

            "Oh. Sayonara"

            "Sayonara Kitoko-san"

            Aiko watched the researchers that had gotten on at Satun-1 meet up with colleges and family.  Others left by themselves. 'It must be nice to have someone waiting for you all the time'

            "Miss Kitoko?"

            Aiko was too lost in thought to respond at first, and she was used to the Japanese name order and endings.

            "Miss Aiko Kitoko, is that you?"

            Aiko turned and looked at the middle age man and woman in front of her.  She took a deep breath and remembered to use her English.

            "Hai, I am Aiko Kitoko" 'phew, only one Japanese word'

            The man spoke first.  "I'm Jake Woods and this is my wife Ella.  We live next to your Grandparents.  They asked us to meet you at the spaceport since they couldn't make it."

            "We have to get on a plane before we are home", Ella added. "It's to long of a trip for your Grandparents."

            "Oh"

          Jake picked up the larger of the two bags, the one that Aiko had set down. "We have to go to the other side of the spaceport.  This side is for shuttles only. Did you have any checked baggage?"

            "No.  I was able to carry on both of my bags."

            "Then we are all set," Jake added as they started walking.  After a few turns and a few long corridors the three entered the gate for the plane.  They only had to wait 10 minutes before boarding the plane and settling in their seats for the next stop on their journey.

            "How much farther do we have to go before we are at my grandparents' house?"

            Jake smiled at Aiko.  "Our car is at the airport in Bon.  We have about an hour car ride home after that."

            "We could have taken the train, but the drive is lovely this time of year, especially with the leaves starting to change."  Ella wanted to show off the area to Aiko.

            Aiko smiled.  The few tress left on earth were lucky to have leaves on them.  She watched out her window in awe as the plane landed.  She could just make out some of the trees in the distance as the plane taxied to the terminal.

            When the steward gave the ok, the passengers got up from their seats and began to collect their belongings.   Jake carried Aiko's larger bag again as the three left the plane.  They made their way to the front entrance of the airport and Aiko took in the sights.  The airport was modern, but it didn't seam to have the same technology as earth.

            When they arrived at the main entrance, Jake made a quick stop at a nearby counter.  The three of them walked out to the curb where a car was waiting.  The airport employee walked out and handed the Keys to Jake after checking his ID.  Ella took the keys from Jake and opened the trunk so he could put Aiko's bag inside.

            Jake opened one of the backdoors for Aiko while Ella climbed into the drivers seat.  After closing Aiko's door Jake slid into the front passenger seat.  Aiko looked out her window and watched the people entering and leaving the airport.  She barley noticed the dark-green haired young woman walking into the building.

            "Aiko, if you get tired at all there are a pillow and blanket for you." Jake said as they pulled out of the airport.

            "Thanks.  I slept on the plane and the shuttle so I should be fine."

            "Well, make yourself comfortable and enjoy the scenery then.  Ella kept her eyes on the road as she spoke.

            Aiko leaned against the pillow as she watched out her window.  Trees and the occasional human buildings stood proudly as if they were there simply to be seen by Aiko.  Red, yellow, and orange leaves were scattered throughout the canopy of green.  The scenery continued on for most of the trip.

            More houses and other buildings started springing up as they neared their destination.  Ella exited the freeway and turned onto a small local road.

            'Welcome to New hope township- founded July 9; 4348' a sign read noting their location.  Ella turned the car into a long driveway a few blocks away from the sign.

            "We are here," Ella proclaimed as she turned the car off.

**********************************************

Character spot:

Kitoko Aiko (Name in Japanese format with family name first)

Name meaning: Beautiful beloved one

Age 14, attends New Hope Jr high, lives with maternal grandparents.

Blond hair, blue eyes

Favorite food, pretty much anything

Blood type: B

Hobbies: reading Manga, hanging out with friends

Weakness: sensitive about mother's death.

Strengths: sensitive for other's emotions

Necklace: orange stone with Kanji of "love"

Birthday: October 11 (Libra)

            (not all the birthday's match the original Senshi, but the signs should)


	2. Introductions

Thanks for reading part one, and the review. ~_^ Between this chapter and the next, you should find out what happened to the earth, and Aiko's mother.

Part 2: Introductions 

Aiko nervously followed Jake and Ella up the sidewalk of her new home. She watched Ella ring the bell. The sound of approaching footsteps made her stomach feel like it was doing flip-flops. She stared at the opening door, and at people she would now call her family. 

"Welcome Aiko. Thanks Jake and Ella for bringing her." Mr. Kitoko was the first to speak. He stepped aside, "Come on in." 

Jake and Ella removed their shoes and sat on the couch. Aiko set her bag down and followed suit. She perched herself on the edge of the other sofa watching the adults great one and other. She looked up as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her grandmother smiled at her before sitting next to her. 

"How was your trip Aiko-chan? You didn't have to wait to long for the Woods did you?" 

Aiko felt a little better because of her Grandmother's kindness. "My trip was ok. I slept for part of the time, so it wasn't that bad. Jake and Ella found me right away at the spaceport." 

"Well, we had better be going," Jake, said to the group. "Ella and I promised Helena that we would take her someplace, and I'm sure you folks have stuff to do also." 

"Thanks again for your help. Aaron and I appreciate it." Suki said to the departing couple. 

"Aiko, it was nice to meet you." Ella said as her and Jake left the house. 

"What would you like to do first Aiko?" Her grandfather asked. "We can have dinner, you can get your stuff settled, or we can go on a drive through the town. 

"I am hungry, dinner sounds nice." 

"I can get dinner started then we can help you unpack, how does that sound?" Suki asked Aiko. 

"Ok" 

Aiko followed Suki into the kitchen, being interested in what was for dinner. Aaron picked up Aiko's bags and took the up to her room. Aiko and her grandmother talked while Suki started the dinner preparations. 

"What are you making Grandmother?" 

"I wasn't sure what you would like, so I figured a roast would be good, with a side of green salad and ice-cream for desert. " 

"That sounds good. I'm not picky when it comes to food." 

"We have all of tomorrow to get you settled, and take you shopping if you want to. I noticed you only had 2 bags with you. I did buy you some cloths, but I wasn't quite sure of your size. You start school Monday, and Helena can walk with you." 

"Who's Helena?" 

"She's one of Jake and Ella's children. They only live 2 houses away, and your school isn't far." 

"What about my school uniform?" 

Suki couldn't stop herself from laughing a merry little laugh. "Only private schools make their students where uniforms and not all of them do. All you have to worry about is making yourself neat and presentable. Do you have a favorite color by the way? Your Oji and I were thinking of painting your room, and picking out new sheets." 

"Yellow is my favorite color, and I also like Orange." 

Suki finished up what she was doing and wiped the counters down. She walked over to the table and sat next to Aiko. "Well, that's done. Shall we go unpack your things?" 

"Sure" 

* * *

Aiko tuned over in her bed. So far it had been a long night for her. She kept thinking about her first day in her new home and all the things she had seen. She would have to start school tomorrow, and none of her friends would be there. Her Grandma already told her that Helena was a year ahead of her, so Aiko would only be able to walk to school with her. 

Aiko sat up and rubbed her eyes as a strange light filled her room. Slowly a ghostly figure in an orange senshi fuku appeared before her. 

"Kitoko Aiko, I am the soldier of love and beauty, Sailor Venus. There is an evil entity approaching this world, one that has already laid much waste to the earth." The apparition spoke. 

"Sailor Venus, how are you here, why are you in my room?" 

Venus could see the confusion and disbelief on Aiko's face, so she chose her words carefully. "I'm not really here in the physical sense. I have projected an image of myself for you too see. However, I cannot explain it; there are more important matters to discuss. 

"As to why I am here, I have come to awaken your powers. Aiko, you are a direct descendant of Aino, Minako and you carry the power of Venus. You must fight the evil and unite the guardian senshi of this era." 

"Guardian, Venus?" 

"You are not an ordinary sailor senshi, you are a guardian. Go forth Aiko smite your foe, bring glory to the moon kingdom and crystal Tokyo." 

Aiko watched as Sailor Venus faded from her room. 'Me, a senshi? Ya right.' Those were her last thoughts as she drifted off to sleep. 

* * *

"Aiko, time to get up." 

Aiko slowly opened her eyes and saw her Grandma in front of her. She sat up, and noticed the bright sunlight streaming through her window. 

"You can get dressed while I finish breakfast. Your book bag is downstairs with the school supplies that you need." 

"Ok, I will be down in a few minutes." Aiko put on the outfit that she chose the night before and fixed her hair. She tied to long blonde strands back into a ponytail with a red ribbon to match the orange border on her sailor collar. Her orange skirt and red Mary Jane's completed the outfit.  She then made her way downstairs into the kitchen. 

"Aiko, your grandfather and I have something for you," her Grandma pulled her over after they had finished eating. "This necklace has been in my family for generations, and I felt that it would be nice to give it to you on your first day of school." 

"Thank you Obaba, it's very pretty" Aiko looked at the pendant on the chain. It was orange in color with a golden Kanji on it. Aiko looked closer, and saw that it was the Kanji for love. 

"Good luck Aiko," Suki called after her Grand daughter as she left with Helena. 'I hope that school goes well for her here, I know this place is much different then her old hometown.' 

* * *

 Aiko eyed her new classmates nervously from the front of the room next to the teacher. It would be weird having a real teacher; in her old school they used web cams to communicate with a teacher somewhere else. 

"Class, this is Aiko Kitoko. Today is her first day, so make her feel welcome. She comes all the way from Earth." 

"Yes Mrs. Sendai" the class answered. 

            Aiko studied the students as Mrs. Sendai introduced her.  It seemed weird to look at a group of students all wearing different clothes.  One girl caught her eye. She was dressed in slacks and a dressy blue shirt. Her dark hair showed blue highlights from the sun coming in through the window. She also noticed a tall brown haired girl sitting in the back daydreaming. 

"Aiko, you can sit next to Misu and she can help show you around."  Mrs. Sendai's words brought Aiko's attention back to her as she noticed the teacher motioning towards her new seat.

"Thank you sensei," Aiko walked over to the empty desk next to the blue haired girl, trying not to notice the weird looks from the class. 

Misu walked with Aiko to the café for lunch. Aiko took in everything she saw on the way down. When they got there, they sat at a table next to a little fountain. Aiko ate a school lunch, while Misu pulled a sandwich out of her bag. 

"So where on earth are you from Aiko?" 

"I'm from Tokyo, Japan." 

"That's nice. I've read about Japan, and it's really interesting." 

"It was better back in the 30th century before everything happened. Now most of earth is barren, and barely habitable." Aiko stumbled over the last words; she hadn't used them very often. It was never necessary to tell another person from earth how desolate the place was. 

"Do you like Virgo and New Hope so far?" 

"Pretty much. I still miss my friends from home, and my local hangouts. This place has charm though. It's so nice and green, like it's alive. I know that probably sounds silly, but I can't think of a better way to put it." 

Misu laughed at that one. "I know how you feel. I have read many books about other places and researched them on the net. Virgo is the best natural environments around. I don't know if it would help, but you can hang out with me if you want too. I go to the palace after school." 

"The palace?" 

"Sorry about that, I wasn't sure what you had seen around town yet. The palace is a nice little dinner type restaurant that I like. The food is good, and it's a nice place to study, or meet with friends." 

"Sure, that sounds like fun. I just have to tell Helena, that I won't be walking home with her. That way she won't be waiting for me." 

* * *

Aiko rushed to meet Misu at the palace. She had to talk to the teacher, so she told Misu that it would be easy to find the place. She turned a corner and stopped in shock. Misu was trying to defend herself from some huge green monster. 

'What should I do? I can't beat that thing, but I have to save Misu, she has been so nice to me.' 

"Concentrate on your power Aiko" a voice came from behind her. 

Aiko spun around and found herself looking at a gray and white kitten with a crescent moon on its head. Somehow after seeing the yoma, a talking cat was nothing. 

"How do I transform?" 

The kitten jumped and did a back flip. Akio grabbed the orange wand that appeared and closed her eyes. The pendant on her necklace glowed and the sign of Venus appeared on her forehead. 

She spoke the words that seamed like second nature, "VENUS GARUDIAN POWER MAKE UP!" A bright flash left Guardian Venus standing where Aiko had been. 

Misu screamed as the yoma knocked her into a wall. She looked up with a dazed expression, and saw someone coming between her and the yoma. 

"VENUS ROLLING HEART VIBRATION!" Venus yelled throwing her attack at the yoma. It howled as the hearts hit it square in the chest. The angry Yoma threw a green bolt at Venus who barley managed to dodge it. 

Nokomis worriedly watched the new warrior take on the yoma. Venus seamed to be loosing ground, and fast. Something caught her attention, making her turn. She noticed a bluish glow forming around Aiko's friend. Her eyes flew wide open as she saw the blue pendant with the wisdom kanji on it glow. The sign of Mercury then appeared on the girl's forehead. 

Misu sat up and touched her now glowing forehead. Sensing that nothing was broken she stood up to face the beast that had thrown her into the wall. Nokomis watched as the Mercury wand materialized in front of Misu. Misu grabbed the wand, and instantly new what to do. 

"MERCURY GARUDIAN POWER MAKE UP!" A quick blue light left Mercury standing where Misu had been. She jumped over to where Venus was fighting the Yoma. 

Venus saw the yoma's next strike coming, but didn't have the energy to attack. Suddenly something blue flew in front of her and attacked the yoma. 

"MERCURY AQUA MIRAGE!" A wall of water separated the senshi from the yoma as Mercury helped Venus stay standing. The water surrounded the yoma, turning it into nothing more then a puddle of green slime. 

Nokomis walked over to the two senshi. "Thank goodness you showed up when you did Mercury. Venus, you did well for your first fight. I am Nokomis, advisor to the guardians." 

Mercury looked around and saw the people starting to gather. "We better get out of here before people ask questions. At this point I wouldn't be able to respond to them, even if I wanted to." 

Mercury helped Venus jump into a nearby alley so they could detransform. They both stared at each other in shock once the senshi fukus were gone. 

"Venus?" 

"Mercury?" 

"Are you too all right? I don't know your civilian names yet." Nokomis cut in. 

Misu recovered first and smiled at the kitten. "I am Misu Minerva, age 14. I attend New Hope JR high with Aiko." 

"I am Kitoko Aiko, age 14. I just moved here from Japan on planet Earth" 

Misu looked at her watch after hearing Aiko's stomach growl. "It's getting late, we should probably head home. Did you want to eat at my place tonight Aiko?" 

"I like that idea, but my grandparents are probably expecting me home soon. I'm sure Helena told them I was meeting you, but I hadn't planned on being out late." 

Misu looked at Aiko. "Will you be able to make it home ok on your own?" 

"I'll be fine, don't worry" 

"I'll walk home with her Misu, so everything will be fine" Nokomis added. 

* * *

Aiko opened the front door and held it open for Nokomis. The two of them walked into the living room together. 

"I'm home," she announced. 

Suki stormed out of the kitchen with a sour look on her face. "Where have you been young lady, I was worried about you. Dinner has been ready for a half hour." 

"Gomen Nasi Obaba. My friend was having some problems, so I was helping her and I lost track of time and …" 

The look on Suki's face softened as she listened to Aiko. 'I'm glad she has made a friend, and was nice enough to help her out. If the friend is a her.' "It's all right Aiko. Come and eat, I kept your food warm for you. Try to call home next time ok?" 

"Hai, I will Grandma. Thanks." Aiko walked into the kitchen and sat at the table. Her grandmother set a plate of food in front of her, which she ate hungrily. 

Nokomis sat patently on the floor next to Aiko waiting to be fed. After Aiko was finished she set her plate down for the hungry cat. Suki watched the kitten eat and had to ask what was on her mind. 

"Aiko, where did that cat come from?" 

"She's a stray. She showed up when I was talking to Misu, and she helped her feel better. I figured giving her a good dinner was the least I could do." 

"Let me guess, you want to keep her too?" 

"May I Grandmother? She's so sweet; I would hate to make her leave. I really like her. Please may I keep her?" 

"What's her name? She needs a good name to go with her nice new home." 

Aiko jumped up and hugged her grandma. "Thank you so much! Her name is Nokomis" 

* * *

Aiko sipped her strawberry smoothie as Misu read her book. The two girls were enjoying some free time inside the palace. 

"Is Nokomis going to stay at your house?" 

"Yes, my Grandmother said I could keep her. I always wanted a pet." 

Misu smiled thinking about her aquarium at home. An ordinary cat would be a problem, but Nokomis was ok. It was just as good though that she would stay with Aiko. Aiko needed a pet of her own. 

Aiko looked out the window and noticed a dark haired girl dressed in Shinto robes walk by. "Misu, how big is Shintoism here?" 

Misu looked up at Aiko from behind her book. "Quite a few People practice it, especially native Virgans. They consider it the holy religion. Someone started it here, in a similar way as is was started on earth. Why do you ask?" 

"I saw someone walking past in Shinto robes, and was surprised to see that outside of Japan." 

Aiko and Misu looked at each other with the same expressions on their faces. Misu left a tip on their table as they ran out to see what was causing the dark energy that only they could see. 

* * *

Next time: Guardian Mars? Who is that brown haired girl?

Thank you for reading. ^_^

**********************************************

Character spot:

Misu Nadia Minerva

Name meaning: Misu=ripples in the water Naida=water nymph Minerva=goddess of wisdom

Age 14, attends New Hope JR high

Dark blue hair,  blue eyes

Blood type: A

Favorite food: sandwiches

Hobbies: studying/reading, computer games

Weakness: shy

Strengths: intelligence, understanding 

Necklace: blue stone with Kanji of "wisdom"

Birthday: September 3 (Virgo)

            (not all the birthday's match the original Senshi, but the signs should)


	3. Mars, and Jupiter?

On to part 3. Enjoy. And yes, I don't own Sailor Moon.  
  
Part 3: Mars and Jupiter?  
  
Aiko and Misu ducted into a nearby alley while avoiding the dark energy. Nokomis did a back flip and produced a blue item with the sign of mercury on it.  
  
"Mercury", she said addressing the newly transformed Senshi. "This is the mercury computer. You can use it to figure out where this yoma is without having to follow the dark tendrils of energy."  
  
Mercury picked up the computer and opened it. Once it opened, she touched her earring and a visor appeared over her face. She concentrated a moment then exclaimed, "It's coming from the Shinto girl. No, wait, its origin is box next to her!"  
  
"SHABON SPRAY!" Mercury's fog enabled the Senshi to approach the energy box under some cover. Just as Venus was about to attack, a yoma appeared above the box and knocked the Senshi over with a blast of energy.  
  
"VENUS ROLL.." her attack was cut off by a second blast of energy. Mercury didn't try another attack since she had received the brunt of the first dark energy blast.  
  
Nokomis decided to check out the dark haired girl in the Shinto robes. She was the only bystander not to unconscious from the energy. The girl was sitting trying to figure out what the evil aura she felt was.  
  
She meowed as she noticed the sign of mars appear on the girl's forehead and the red glow surrounding her. She watched as a red pendant floated up from underneath the robes still attached to it chain. As it started to glow, a red transformation wand appeared in front of the girl, making the mars sigil glow even brighter.  
  
"Take the wand!" Nokomis told her, her feline voice startling the girl.  
  
"A talking cat. Great I'm loosing it." She looked into the cat's eyes, and what she had to do came to her. "MARS GAURDIAN POWER MAKE UP!" She was engulfed in red light, and Guardian Mars was standing ready for action where the girl had been.  
  
She faced the yoma, who by that point had Venus by the neck in it's claws. "MARS SNAKE FIRE!" Flames in the shape of snakes surrounded the yoma, binding it's arms to it's sides while burning it.  
  
"MERCURY AQUA MIRAGE!" finished the yoma off. Mercury noticed the people starting to wake up with the dark energy gone. She looked at Mars, and the both of them helped Venus into the alley where they detransformed.  
  
"We had better go somewhere to talk and rest." Nokomis told the three girls.  
  
"My Grandfather is busy, so we can have the temple to ourselves. I could also so a fire reading."  
  
"Um," Aiko spoke up, "We haven't really introduced ourselves yet. I'm Kitoko Aiko, Mercury here is Misu Mivera, and the cat is Nokomis."  
  
"I'm Ardiana Nuri. Nice to meet you Kitoko, Misu, and Nokomis" She looked at Aiko laughing at her statement. "What did I say wrong?"  
  
"Gomen.. er I'm sorry, I said my name the Japanese way. Kitoko is my family name, and Aiko is what you all would call my first name."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Morrisa!" the tall dark womanish figure growled, obviously displeased. "What were you thinking?"  
  
"Sorry KaliSama. I thought we were ready to start on a new target"  
  
"You were wrong. There is to much power on the planet the humans call Virgo. On the one they call earth, we are closer to our goal. It is almost drained of energy and will soon be nothing. The last power source, the one the humans call "love" is also gone from earth. Finish it off, then we will have the power we need for the next target. That is an order, one you better not disobey unless you want to end up like the humans"  
  
"As you wish"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
About a half hour later found the three girls and the cat in the yard at the Shinto temple. They had stopped by Aiko's house to get her manga reader on the way, pleasing Suki to no end seeing her granddaughters friends.  
  
"This is the manga most people thought of as a legend, those who had never seen a senshi. I was one of those people until I learned I was a Guardian Senshi." Aiko looked at the other two after speaking.  
  
"Um Ardiana, may I ask you something?" Aiko had a nervous look on her face while speaking.  
  
"Sure Aiko."  
  
"While you said your Grandfather would be busy, but what about parents?" When Aiko saw the pained look on the other girl's face she regretted asking. She had thought that maybe they were working or someplace.  
  
"My mother left me here after my father died in an accident. No one has heard of or from her since. Grandpa told me that it was to painful for her to look at me after what happened. She was his daughter, so I guess he should know what she was feeling. My Grandmother died shortly after my mother disappeared."  
  
"I'm really sorry I asked Ardiana"  
  
"It's alright" Ardiana smiled weakly. "It happened awhile ago, besides, you didn't know"  
  
"I live with my grandparents. My mother was a diplomat, and fairly well known in Japan. I traveled with her when I wasn't at my father's house. After my mother died, my father didn't want me to stay with him all the time, so he sent me to my grandparents on my mother's side. My mom had just started her career before getting married, so she kept her last name."  
  
"Now that you mention it Aiko, I think I remember reading something about your mother on the net once" Misu spoke up. "It was in with a group of articles about Japan. I didn't connect the name with yours at first because I wasn't sure how common of a name it was. Wasn't an assassination attempt suspected? "  
  
"I didn't want to know anything, so I didn't ask." Aiko looked sad as she spoke. "I should be getting home, my grandmother might be worried about me, ja matta" Unseen by the other girls, tears streamed down Aiko's face as she ran down the steps.  
  
Aiko stumbled blindly though the streets of New Hope with no particular destination in mind. She started to cross the street without looking and found herself staring down a rapidly approaching truck. She froze with terror, when suddenly she felt herself swept up into someone's arms and being carried to safety. After her rescuer set her down on a bench did she look up. She found herself looking at the tall brunette from class.  
  
"You have to be careful around here Aiko." The girl smiled at her. "The name is Nariko Saskia. Are you ok?"  
  
"I think so. I just got upset at something one of my friends said." Aiko wiped the tears from her face, trying not to draw attention to the fact that she had been crying. 'Too late, I think Nariko already noticed. I feel something from her. I should let Nokomis know'  
  
Just as Aiko was thinking of her, Nokomis walked up to her mistress, being careful to meow instead of talking. She looked at Nariko as the girl sat down next to Aiko. 'She has an interesting aura, I should keep an eye on her.' Nokomis thought to herself. Sensing Aiko's mood, she jumped into her lap and rubbed her head up against Aiko's hands while purring.  
  
Nariko laughed at the cat's antics. "You know that cat Aiko?" she asked.  
  
Aiko smiled as she hugged her cat. "Hai, She's my cat Nokomis. She followed me home after my first day of school, and my Grandmother let me keep her."  
  
"You don't live with your parents?"  
  
"No"  
  
"Neither do I. I live with my Mother's sister, and her husband." Nariko sighed. "I don't have to be home for awhile, do you want to do something? The palace has some great cakes."  
  
Aiko's heart skipped a beat at the mention of the palace. Misu might look for her there, and she didn't feel up to explaining her behavior to her friends at the moment. "I've been there already, since I'm new in town, maybe there is someplace else I could try"  
  
"Well, I know of this nice bakery on the other side of town. They have really good pastries, and they are next to a park"  
  
Aiko sighed silently with relief. She followed her new friend to the bus stop. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Misu didn't know what to say after Aiko left. 'I shouldn't have said that much to her.' She mussed while Ardiana watched her.  
  
"It's alright Misu, I'm sure you didn't mean to hurt her feelings."  
  
"I know, It's just that I should have realized that she would still be sensitive about it. Maybe we should go after her."  
  
"If you want to, go ahead. I have a bad feeling about something, and I want to do a fire reading. It's up to you if you want to stay"  
  
Misu stopped feeling guilty and started to wonder what Ardiana meant. "What do you mean by a bad feeling?"  
  
"Ever since I can remember I've been able to feel things, sort of like promotions. I thought it was my Shinto heritage and training, but maybe being mars has something to do with it. Sailor Mars in Aiko's manga was the same way."  
  
"But what is their that you feel bad about?" Misu's curiosity was getting the best of her.  
  
"Something about Aiko's mother. The feeling started when you were asking her about her. I do remember hearing about the death of her mother. One of my classmates is into politics so I knew about what happened."  
  
"How did your father die Ardiana? I don't mean to pry, but after talking about Aiko's mother, something is bothering me"  
  
Ardiana took a deep breath before speaking. "He was protecting my mother. She didn't say much about what happened because she was to upset. Whatever killed him was after her." A single tear slowly fell as she finished talking.  
  
"I'm so sorry for asking Ardiana."  
  
"Don't worry. I have a feeling that this all has some importance in something, but I don't know what. What about your family?"  
  
"I live with my parents and my fish. This isn't to be repeated except to Aiko, but I'm adopted. I have no idea about my birth parents, but then again, I never asked. Maybe I will. If your alright after what happened today, I'm going home to ask my mother."  
  
"It's fine. I can do my fire reading while you talk to her. Bye Misu"  
  
  
  
As Misu walked home she thought about asking her mother. 'I don't want to hurt her feelings' she thought 'and even if she doesn't mind, she might not even know. I think I'll try my computer. The mercury mini computer should help the process of hacking into the databanks of the adoption agency.'  
  
  
  
Next time: The truth about Misu's past. Also, what does the girl's families have to do with the current situation. And is Nariko's aura that of a senshi or a yoma?  
  
**********************************************  
  
Character spot: Ardiana Nuri Name meaning: Firey Flaming Lights Age 14, attends New Hope School for girls Black hair, dark blue eyes Blood type: AB Favorite food: fish Hobbies: meditation Weakness: can be overly critical Strengths: ability to sense evil Necklace: red stone with Kanji of "war" Birthday: April 17 (Aries) 


	4. Revelations

**Part 4: Revelations**

            "Welcome back" the blonde said to the tall dark haired woman.

            "Thank you" she replied, looking at the pair that had waited for her.

            "What did you find out?" the other one asked her.

            "It is as we feared.  Things on earth are getting worse.  What has been happening here while I was away?"

            "We have allies here now. However, they are not very strong yet, and have others that still have to join them. According to the prophecy, one other must join them before she can be found."

            "The enemy attacked a few times when the first ones were awakened, but they haven't attacked in about a week." The blonde added to the Virgan report.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Misu took a deep breath before approaching her friend.  She hadn't had the courage to stop by Aiko's house over the week break.  Luckily for them there had been no more attacks since they found Mars.

            "Aiko-chan" Misu said softly to her friend as she took her seat at the desk next to her. She hoped the use of Japanese would cheer Aiko up.

            "Konichiwa Misu-chan" Aiko smiled back at her.

            "Are you feeling ok?"

            "I'm fine, sorry I over-reacted the other day."

            "Mornin Aiko" Nariko waved as she breezed by to take her seat in the back.

            Misu's eyes widened and she waited until Nariko was out of range before whispering, "You're friends with Nariko?"

            "Ya, why?" Aiko looked genuinely confused.

            "I'm impressed.  She can be violent, and I think I'm the only one to ever talk to her."

            "She's nice to me. She saved me from getting hit by a bus the other day" Aiko sweat-dropped remembering her lack of attention.

            "We get along all right, I help her with her homework, and she keeps the bullies away" Misu winked.

            "Want to go to the palace after school, we haven't been in awhile."

            "Sure, I'll walk over with you."

            Just then the teacher came in and started lessons, ending further conversation between the two teens.

            'I'm glad Mom has plans tonight' Misu thought as she watched the teacher. 'She just had to take time off on my break so I couldn't find out about my birth mother.' Misu sighed thinking about the lost opportunity. 

            A clacking sound of a dropped dry-erase marker from the front of the room brought Misu back to the present.  Everyone was staring at her, including a very upset teacher.

            "Hall now Minerva! Everyone pays attention in my class."

            Misu shuffled out into the hall, face-faulting the whole way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Ignore Virgo, attack earth" Morrisa muttered, echoing Kali's instructions to her. "Screw that. I want some of the energy on Virgo, Earth is almost dead. Kali is so busy with Earth she won't notice a Yoma on Virgo. Besides, should get those guardians out of the way before the get any stronger."

            Morrisa chuckled as she thought of a plan. (And yes she wins stupid villain of the year award)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Aiko sighed as she walked to the palace along. Since Misu had detention she would meet Aiko there.

            A scream form down the street made Aiko's heart skip. 'Must be a yoma.  I feel something, and that scream sounds familiar.' Aiko ducked into an alley and Venus ran towards the source of the scream.

            "VENUS ROLLING HEART VIBRATION!" hit the side of the Yoma causing it to back away from its current victim. She jumped over to the girl to check on her when she was caught off guard by an energy blast from the yoma.

            'Damn, my attack should have stopped it, or at least stunned it.' Venus stood up to face the monster.

            "VENUS…." She screamed as another blast hit her before she could finish the attack, and ended up on the ground. 'Damn this thing is more powerful then normal.'

            Venus winced because of the pain as she stood up, leaning on a nearby building. The Yoma looked at her with an evil glee as it powered up for another attack. Venus swore she could her evil laughter from in area, and it almost sounded like "goodbye guardian"

            "FLOWER HURRICANE!" a green blast of energy with what looked like pink flower petals hit the yoma. It snarled as it faced the newcomer; moving slightly slower then it had been thanks to the attacks it took.

            "JUPITER COCUNUT CYCLONE" sent the yoma into a wall, cracking the cement. Jupiter stared at it before jumping down from her perch, the kanji for 'protection' glittering on her bow-gem as she landed.

            "You ok?" she asked Venus while keeping and eye on yoma making its way up.

            "Ya, I think, thanks."

            "MARS SNAKE FIRE!"

            "SNOW ILLUSION!"

            The yoma screamed as it disintegrated, the two opposing attacks were too much for it after the previous ones.

            "Sorry were late" Mercury said running over to Venus.

            "Looks like everything is set here.  I'm Guardian Jupiter, by the way" were her words as she departed.

            "I still sense evil around here" Mars glanced around as she spoke.

            "You haven't heard the last of me, frail Guardians," Morrisa growled from the shadows just loud enough for them to hear before disappearing.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "This feels so much better" Aiko remarked as she sipped some ice tea.  Ardianna and Misu had helped her back to the temple and made her comfortable on Ardianna's bed. She flashed the "V" sign as she felt her energy retuning.

            Nokomis landed on the bed next to Aiko after coming in the window. Ardianna and Misu gave her a detailed description of the previous events. When they finished the cat had about as much information as a bystander would have.

            "I felt so powerless" Aiko moaned after hearing the tale again.

            "Well did you make sure you had a good hit before ignoring the yoma?" Nokomis asked.

            "Gomen nasi Nokomis" Aiko murmured.

            "It seams to me to be more a lack of training then power. Never turn your back on an undefeated enemy Aiko, and make sure your attacks are on target. A powerful off target attack is not as good as a weaker on target one." Nokomis tried to soften the blow somewhat, but not too much.  This was an important lesson, and her charge was lucky to be alive, especially after such strong a yoma. 

            "I have to get going. I want to run some programs on my laptop while my mom is still at work, and I don't know how long it will take." Misu looked at her friends as she spoke. "As long as Aiko is feeling better"

            "I'm fine" Aiko protested.

            "My Grandfather is on a pilgrimage for the next week or so. Why don't you both stay overnight tonight? Aiko can rest up without her family's questioning, and Misu, you can run programs all night if you have to."

            "What about clothing? Neither Aiko or myself have anything to wear to school tomorrow." Misu worried.

            "Why don't you stop by yours and Aiko's to get something?" Ardianna suggested.

            "My Grandmother would wonder why someone else was picking up stuff for me." Aiko added.

            "You are about my size, Aiko, so I can pick out something from home for you when I get something for me."

            "Sounds good" Aiko said.

            Misu was back from her house soon enough with cloths for both her and Aiko.  She had even brought pajamas for the other girl. She started up her laptop and took out her Mercury computer. After she had the right program running on the laptop, she used the Mercury computer to make the program check databases that were supposed to be impenetrable from the outside.

            "I guess that network security is no match for the magical power of my Mercury computer" She joked, drawing smiles from both her friends.

            "What are you breaking into?" Aiko asked, having not been around when Misu told Ardianna about being adopted.

            "Misu is adopted." Ardianna started, then quickly continued seeing the confused look on Aiko's face. "Which means that her birthparents could be dead. Think about it, both you and I live with our Grandparents after the death of a parent."

            "But I thought it was your father that died" Aiko was starting to understand, but not quite.

            "He died protecting her mother" Misu took over. "Your mother died in mysterious circumstances, Ardianna's father was killed protecting her mother, and who knows what happened to my birth mother."

            "Then maybe the enemy can sense our power," Aiko finished starting to understand. "The first night here, Sailor Venus came to me and told me that I was descended from her. But why did they never go after us?"

            "Maybe our power was hidden before we awakened" Misu surmised. "If you think about it, your mothers were older, so maybe their power was stronger and not hidden as easily. Especially if they didn't know they were guardians, they might not be able to try to hide it."

            "The line of power is probably maternal" Ardianna continued. "That why they were after mother's and not fathers."

            "This makes way to much sense." Aiko spoke up. "If the enemy is the one that killed my mother, they better prepare to be destroyed."  Aiko stood up with an angry look on her face as if to emphasize her point. The gem on her necklace started to glow slightly as she clenched her fists in rage.

            "Calm down Aiko, there is nothing we can do at the moment except find the truth." Misu put a hand on her shoulder, and the two sat down next to each other.

            Just then the laptop beeped, signaling the completion of the program. Misu picked it up and read the screen, looking more surprised as she looked at it longer. "It says that my birth mother lives on earth, in Japan. She still alive, and is named," Misu gasped "Naiya Mizuno. I can't believe her family carried the Mizuno name that long. It says she still alive, I want to talk to her. I need answers"

            "I just thought of something else" Misu had Mercury computer working with the laptop again before she finished speaking.

            "What are you doing this time?" Ardianna asked.

            "Just checking to see if I can get any information about crystal Tokyo, since that is the last era of senshi."

            The three of them sat in silence for what seamed like ages, sensing that something major was coming. Four pairs of eyes watched the screen, one pair knowing what programs were running, and another pair belonging to a certain feline.

            The completion beep finally came, and Misu once again read out the results from the screen. "The prophecy tells how to find the princess. All of the guardians have to be gathered before the seal on her powers will be released. She can not waken as her true self before then. The guardian powers of love, wisdom, war, protection, revolution, affinity, flight, and rebirth must be together to break the seal of the final guardian power, sanctity."

            "I have the Guardian power of love." Aiko said holding up her necklace and pointing to the Kanji on it. "This is the Kanji for love. Let me see yours" She nodded as she saw the other two. "Misu is the Guardian of wisdom, and Ardianna of war. Jupiter has the power of protection, I saw her Kanji while she was fighting the yoma."

            "But I have the power of fire, and Mercury the power of water, just like in your manga" Ardianna looked puzzled.

            "Well, there is the part in the Manga when NeoQueen Serenity called each of the senshi by our guardian powers, like Sailor Mars was Soldier of War."  Aiko figured out.

            "We need to figure out a way to earth" Misu looked hopeful as she spoke

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that day in another part of Virgo……

            "Well it looks like they are almost finished gathering, and they have learned of the prophecy" the dark haired one spoke first.

            "Soon we can join them" the Aqua haired one spoke next. "I can see images of everyone together in my mirror." The blonde took her hand and smiled at her as the three contemplated the mission yet to come.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Next time: All together? Misu's past part 2. yes I'm evil, but hey, I'm making this up  as I go. I have a general idea of what I want to happen, but I don't have an outline. ~_^**

Hope you like it so far.


	5. Gathering

**Part 5: Gathering**

**            "Class, we have a new student today. Her name is Tacy and she is from the capital city of Virgo. Tacy, you can have a seat next to Aiko." Aiko waved as the teacher said her name. "She can help show you around for the first day or so."**

            "Yes" Tacy walked down the isle and sat next to Aiko. 

            'Why me?' thought Aiko. 'I just got here a few weeks ago myself. Maybe sensei thinks that I know enough around here.'

            Tacy ended up joining Aiko and Misu for lunch. Seeing Nariko eating by herself, Aiko told her she could eat with them also.

            "I'm Nariko" She introduced herself. Misu smiled, she had given her name to Tacy already.

            "I'm Tacy Mitsu. Pleased to meet you."  Tacy nodded her head as she introduced herself to Nariko.  The movement caused her necklace to slide out from under her blouse. She blushed and quickly tucked it back before the others got a good look at it. All they saw was a quick flash of purple.

            "What's with the necklace Tacy?" Nariko asked her. "If you are wearing one, why bother having it under your shirt?"

            "It's for good luck. I worry about something happening to it, so I wear it under my shirt." She explained. 'It's not like they would know what it means. But still, I don't like to show it to people.'  

            Just then the bell rang signaling the end of lunch. The four girls hurried back into class.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That afternoon found Aiko and Misu at Ardiana's.  The three girls, and one cat, were trying to figure out what they were going to do next.

            "I think Tacy's necklace is suspicious." Aiko surmised after telling Ardiana what happened at lunch.

            "Just because she wears a necklace that she won't show people, it doesn't make her a guardian" Ardiana said. "One of my friends has a pendant she wears under her shirt that isn't a guardian stone."

            "I agree," Misu said. "It doesn't have to be a guardian stone, but we should still be careful.  Tacy did just transfer after Jupiter showed up."

            "So if and only if; Tacy was Jupiter, then Nariko's aura could be that of a Yoma." Aiko puzzled. "But we defeated all the yoma that attacked so far."

            "According to the prophecy, there are eight guardians and one other, "her".  Nariko could be another guardian, or another yoma sent to spy on us.  Tacy could even be a yoma for all we know. Anything is possible" Nokomis told the girls.

            "We should be careful then," Aiko said.

            "I can give you all something," Nokomis said. She did a back flip and three watches appeared. "Those are communicators. They look like normal watches, and even tell time. If one of you finds out something you can tell the others sooner, or you can call for help. I can also communicate with them."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "How is she doing?" the blond asked.

            "She is doing well in her new surroundings. She has also found several people with higher energy levels then normal." The dark haired one answered.

            "Let us hope she finds their identities out before it is too late."  The Aqua haired woman said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Morrisa!" Kali screamed at the womanish figure in front of her

            "Yes Kali-sama." Morrisa replied.

            "I told you not to bother with Virgo, and you didn't listen.  Devi, come forth" Kali seamed to sneer.  After her last command, another figure materialized in the room.

            "Yes Kali-sama." Devi said.

            "I am sending you out next, Morrisa has failed. You are to disguise yourself as a human, and go to Earth.  From there you can send out your yoma to finish off that planet."

            "But what about the warriors on Virgo? Shouldn't we defeat them before they get too strong?" Morrisa demanded

            "Silence" Kali yelled at her. "We need the power that defeating the earth can give us before we go after Virgo. Those guardians won't be able to defeat us when we have that power." That said, both Devi and Morrisa vanished out of the room.

            "I'll show her," Morrisa muttered from another area. "Just wait, I don't need the power of earth."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Misu sighed as she walked home after another day of school. Aiko looked over at her with a sympathetic gaze. Neither the girls or Nokomis could figure out Nariko's power, or If Tacy was connected to the guardians. The day had also been unsettling, both Aiko and Misu felt some sense of foreboding, and new that Ardiana must be feeling a stronger version. Suddenly Misu's Mercury computer beeped. The girls looked at each other then ducked behind a building.

            "There is a yoma nearby" Misu said looking at the screen. They wasted no time.

            "MERCURY GUARDIAN POWER, MAKE UP!"

            "VENUS GUARDIAN POWER, MAKE UP!"

            "There is a yoma by Tenth Street" Mercury sent on her communicator to Ardiana, hoping she could help.

            The yoma materialized from behind a bush. It was a dark ugly greenish color, and looked at it's foes like they were a joke.

            "VENUS ROLLING HEART VIBRATION" hit the yoma in what would be the chest area for a human. It growled in pain and turned back to face Venus. 

            "MERCURY AQUA MIRAGE!" 

            "MARS SNAKE FIRE!" The yoma was knocked over by both the attacks, and disintegrated.

            "Score another one for the guardians!" Venus said.

            "Not so fast, puny guardians." Morrisa stepped out from behind another building. "I have come to destroy you before you can get in our way again." "DARK BOLTS!" 

            Venus just barely managed to throw herself out of the way. 

            "MERCURY AQUA MIRAGE!"  "MARS SNAKE FIRE!" Mercury and Mars attacked simultaneously. 

            The attacks simply were simply absorbed by Morrisa's shield. "Are those attacks, what a joke, the yoma must be really weak to be beaten by the likes of you" she snarled.

            "JUPITER COCUNUT CYCLONE!"  The attack sparked a few times as it the shields before being absorbed. Seeing her attack wasted, Jupiter screamed and tried to physically attack Morrisa. She just laughed and threw Jupiter back into Mercury and Mars. 

            "This is the end, guardians." Morrisa laughed as she powered up again.

            "DARK BOLTS!"

            "SILENT WALL!"  a purplish wall of energy blocked Morrisa's dark bolts.

            "I will not let you destroy anyone. Protected by Saturn, the planet of death and rebirth, I am Guardian Saturn." She raised her glaive, pointing it at Morrisa. 

            "Rebirth" Venus murmured.      

            "VIOLIN TIDE"  "SPACE TURBULANCE" "CHRONOS TYPHOON"

            Morrisa screamed as the attacks started to penetrate her shield.

            "Don't use the glaive" Guardian Pluto ordered Saturn. "Everyone, attack"

            "MERCURY AQUA MIRAGE" "VENUS ROLLING HEART VIBRATION" "MARS SNAKE FIRE" "JUPITER COCUNUT CYCLONE" "VIOLIN TIDE"  "SPACE TURBULANCE" "CHRONOS TYPHOON" all the attacks raced towards Morrisa, shattering what was left of the shield, started to tear her apart.  "SILENT WALL" Saturn used her defensive attack to stop the backlash from all the power they had released.

            "We will still get earth, then Virgo" Morrisa screamed as she faded out of existence.

            "Affinity, flight, and revolution." Venus murmured again, looking at the Kanji on the guardian stones which were part of the front bows of the guardians' fukus. 

            "All the guardian powers are united, as according to the prophecy" Mercury stated. "So now how do we find her?"

            "Everyone concentrate on your powers. Once all our powers are united, the seal on the princess will be broken. Pluto Revolution" As Pluto closed her eyes, her stone started glowing, surrounding the rest of her in a dark red aura. Seeing that, the rest of the guardians said their powers, and started glowing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In another part of town…..

            Annamika Hina sat in her room daydreaming with her black cat beside her. Suddenly, both she and the cat started glowing with a silver-goldish aura, and a crescent moon appeared on the cat's forehead. The cat back flipped, and produced a locket.

            "Transform, the rest are waiting for you. Fate has brought all of you together."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            A mist surrounded the guardians, and a warm light started coming from the center of it. That light started to take the shape of a human, and slowing materialized into one. She stood there for all of them to see. She had a skirt, collar, and boots of gold and silver bows. A golden stone sat in the front bow, with the Kanji of Sanctity on it. On her forehead was a golden tiara with a crescent moon.

            "I am Guardian Moon, Princess and heir to the lost kingdom of the moon, and Crystal Tokyo. This is my guardian cat, Neonis." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~Hope you all enjoyed that chapter, it took forever to write. I'm still not sure if I like the name of Moon's cat. It's a version of Neona (new moon) and since he's the male cat, I don't think a feminine name would be fitting. Nokomis (moon daughter) is also feminine. I was tempted to switch their names, but that wouldn't have worked either.

            I also plan to introduce the outer's civilian identities in the next chapter as well as Jupiter. 

            Please review and let me know what you think. ~_^, and thanks for reading.


	6. Identities

**Part 6: Identities**

            Aiko winced at suddenly finding herself on the ground. "What the hell happened?" she asked, looking at Misu and Ardiana. "And why are we detransformed?"

            "And where are the others?" Ardiana asked.

            "I think there was too much power released in a short time frame and small area." Misu explained, typing on Mercury computer as she spoke. "The others probably ended up in similar situations as us. We are probably only together because of luck."

            It was then that they noticed the small black cat nearby, with a crescent moon on his forehead. 

            "Neonis" Aiko called out "Are you all right?"

            "I'm fine thank you. And seeing that you are all fine as well, I had better find my mistress. She is probably confused. Her name is Annamika Hina." With that the black cat ran off.

            "That name is familiar, she goes to my school," Ardiana said. "I'll talk to her tomorrow. "

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Tell her to give them to the ones that she feels the power from" the dark haired woman said to the blonde and the aqua haired one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Tacy ended up eating lunch with Aiko and Misu again the next day. Nariko wasn't with them because she had stayed home that day. 

            "I have something for you two," Tacy smiled as she handed tickets to the girls.

            "What are these for?" Aiko asked, inspecting the envelope.

            "They are for a concert tonight. Lirit Marina and Noelani Kana will be performing." Tacy replied.

            "Thank you very much Tacy. I love their music." Misu said,

            "Yes, thank you Tacy" Aiko added her own thanks. 'I've never heard of them, but if Misu likes them it should be good. Besides, I don't want to hurt Tacy's feelings.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Guess what Oba?" Aiko said to her Grandmother when she got home from school, dropping her bag on the floor as she walked in.

            "What Ai-chan" Suki asked.

            "I'm going to a concert with Misu and Tacy tonight. Tacy gave us the tickets, may I go please?"

            "What kind of concert?" Suki looked a bit worried. She knew those loud bands the kids we into nowadays could cause damage to the ears.

            "Um" she pulled out her ticket and read off the names, "Lirit Marina and Noelani Kana. Misu likes them, so it can't be all that bad" 

            "You may go. Make sure you dress nice Ai-chan. The New Hope symphony hall is an upscale place."

            "Thank you Oba" Aiko hugged her Grandmother and ran upstairs to her room. She pulled out an orange dress from her closet and laid it out on her bed. She opened her jewelry box and picked out opal earrings with an opal necklace to match. She made sure everything was ready before she went downstairs to help her grandparents with dinner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Misu was waiting for her in front of the concert hall. She looked stunning in her fitted knee length baby blue dress. She had on earrings, a necklace, and bracelet of silver and turquoise. She waved at Aiko as she saw the other girl approaching, looking just as nice in her orange ensemble.

            "Shall we find our seats?" Misu asked the blonde.

            "Yes we shall my lady," Aiko answered her, barely surpassing a giggle. 

            The two friends made their way into the hall, turning a few heads. Aiko ran her hand through part of her hair that wasn't held back by the red ribbon. They found their seats and sat down. 

            "I can't wait until they start" Misu looked at the curtained stage as she spoke.

            "I know. These seats are really close; I hope Tacy didn't spend too much."

            "Aiko, tickets are hard enough to get for their concerts, let alone this close."

            "Maybe Tacy knows them or something." Aiko figured. "And speaking of Tacy, where is she?"

            No sooner had she spoken, Tacy appeared from the isle. She had a dark purple dress on. She had a short golden necklace on with a round amethyst pendant. She also had amethyst chips on the clips in her shoulder length dark hair. "Sorry I'm a little bit late. I'm not used to dressing up." She sat down next to Misu.

            "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the New Hope Symphony hall." Came a voice from on stage as the curtain rose. "The emergency exits are on the left and right of the stage, and in the back of the auditorium. Now, welcome Lirit and Noelani. Lirit will be playing her violin, and will be accompanied by Noelani on the piano."

            Two figures walked onto stage with their introductions. Lirit was wearing an aquamarine off the shoulder gown, and had her hair of the same color tied back with a blue ribbon. She walked elegantly onto the stage while carrying her violin, already out of its case. Noelani was wearing a dark blue suit. Due to the suit being fitted, one could make out her feminine form if they were looking hard enough. Her short dark blonde hair almost seamed to wave in an unknown breeze as she took her seat at the piano.

            "The first piece that we will be performing is one we wrote ourselves entitled 'Sea and Sky'" Lirit announced before settling her violin into its proper place.

            Aiko listened in awe as the music played. It was beautiful, yet haunting as if it was trying to tell her something. She could see why Misu liked them so much. Aiko felt like she was being surrounded by the emotions of the music. The music swirled around her, almost like waves and gusts of wind. She watched Lirit and Noelani as she was swept up by the music, and their appearances started distorting.  Lirit's image started merging with that of Guardian Neptune, and Noelani with Uranus. Somehow it seamed right. 

            Next to Aiko, Misu was having a similar experience. She saw the two guardian figures onstage playing the instruments. In response to their feelings, and unknown to them, Aiko and Misu started to glow slightly with their colors. Tacy looked strait at Lirit, who was watching while playing, and winked at her. Looking at the two girls, who glow only a guardian could see at this point, Lirit could just make out the faint symbols of mercury and Venus on Misu and Aiko's foreheads. Noelani also looked at the two and noticed the symbols as well. She winked at Tacy so the girl would know what to do.

            "That was wonderful" Misu said to Tacy and Aiko when the show was over.

            "I'm glad you liked it." Tacy smiled. "I want to show both of you something if you would come with me."

            "Sure" both Misu and Aiko said, still a bit in awe. They followed Tacy backstage, surprised that no one had stopped them. All Tacy had to do was smile at the usher, and he let them through. Tacy looked at both girls before knocking on a door. Before Aiko or Misu knew what was happening, they ended up in Lirit's dressing room, where both she and Noelani were.

            "Wow" was all Misu managed at the sight of her favorite musicians still in their finery.

            "Lirit, Lani, these are my friends from school, Misu Minerva and Aiko Kitoko." Tacy introduced the girls.

            "Welcome Misu and Aiko" Lirit said warmly.

            "Greetings Mercury and Venus" came a voice from the shadows. A tall slender woman with long dark green hair walked up to them. "I saw the symbols on your head while 'sea and sky' was playing. I am Toki Michiko, and Guardian Pluto." She held out her dark red guardian gem with the Kanji for revolution on it.

            Aiko and Misu stood in total shock, staring at the group. Finally Aiko spoke, "You two are Guardians Neptune and Uranus, aren't you?" She motioned towards Lirit and Noelani.

            "Correct," Tacy said, drawing their attention to her, "and I am guardian Saturn"

            "Pleased to meet you," Misu found her voice.

            "So that leaves only the identities of Jupiter, Moon, and Mars" Lirit pondered.

            "A girl named Annamika Hina that attends the private Jr high is Moon" Aiko told them. "Her cat gave me her name before going to look for her. Mars is Ardiana Nuri. She goes to the same school and Moon, and she is a Shinto Priestess in training."

            "I suspect that Nariko Saskia, a classmate of mine, might be Jupiter." Tacy added. "I felt a strong power from her, similar to Aiko and Misu's. She also seamed curious about my guardian stone."

            "She saw your gem?" Noelani looked at the girl

            "No only that I had a necklace on under my blouse." Tacy smiled. "Don't worry, she didn't see the gem."

            "So what do we do now?" Misu asked the others. "Morrisa said something about them going after earth."

            "I'll be going to earth the next day or so to check things out again," Toki told the group. "I can keep you all informed as to any developments."

            "We have been meeting at Ardiana's temple. You all are welcome to come." Misu invited.         

            "How about tomorrow after lunch?" Tacy suggested. "If Toki is leaving for earth soon, we can all have one meeting before she leaves."

            "Good idea" Toki agreed. "I'll be there"

            "So will Lani and I" Lirit added.

            "Misu and I will have to be going soon," Aiko said. "My grandmother will be mad if we are out late."

            "I'm staying at her place tonight" Misu added. 

            "I can take the both of you home then." Noelani offered.

            "Thank you" Misu and Aiko said together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Suki sat in the living room watching out the window for the girls. She looked at her watch again and frowned. 'Those girls should have been home an hour ago' she thought worriedly. She stood up from the sofa after being started by the sound of the engine of a sports car. She watched as Misu and Aiko climbed out of the backseat of a dark blue convertible. She thought the passenger in the front looked like she had aqua hair, but dismissed it as just looking weird in the dark street. 

            "Well it's about time you two arrived." She said to them as they entered.

            "Gomen nasi Oba." Aiko said nervously. "We were talking to Lirit and Noelani after the concert was over and didn't notice the time. Tacy took us backstage; she is a good friend of theirs." Aiko had to restrain herself from laughing. She didn't think her grandmother needed to know that Tacy was more then just a friend, she was an ally. 

            "Good evening, Mrs. Kitoko" Misu said after Aiko was finished. "Thank you very much for letting me spend the night, and I apologize for being late."

            "It's all right" Suki relented. 'Ai-chan has such a polite friend.' "It's not every day you get to meet someone like Lirit Marina or Noelani Kana now is it? Go get ready for bed. Misu, your bag is in Aiko's room, and I made the trundle bed for you"

            The girls half ran, half walked up the stairs. They quickly got ready for bed and each girl was under the covers in her own bed when Suki poked her head in to say goodnight.

            "Goodnight Misu-chan, Ai-chan. See you in the morning." She closed the door behind her.

            "The communicator, Ardiana" Aiko whispered after waiting for Suki to leave.

            "What?" Misu muttered, half asleep, having gotten comfortable.

            "We have to tell Ardiana what happened, especially since the meeting is at her house. I'll tell her, don't worry." Aiko grabbed her communicator as Misu pulled the blankets closer around her. ~Ardiana, its Aiko. I've found out the identities of most of the others. They want to meet at your place. ~ Aiko sent over the communicator.

            ~ What bloody time is it? ~ Ardiana's sleep laden voice was heard.

            ~ Gomen, I'll explain everything tomorrow. We will be at your place after lunch. ~ Aiko prayed that Ardiana wasn't too mad at her.

            ~k, fine, sure. See you tomorrow~ came the reply from the Shinto. Aiko smiled and went to sleep as well.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

            Hope you liked that installment of the storey. Things are finally starting to go somewhere, ne?  I hope to have this storey finished before school starts (begging of September) since I'll have lots of papers to write this semester, and psychology papers are not fun to write.

            I'll probably put up everyone's names, and such at the end of next chapter. I'm planning on revealing Jupiter's identity then, so I can put all the Guardian's together.

            Thanks for reading ~_^


	7. Identities II

**Part 7: Identities II**

Ardiana grumbled as she cleaned up her room. No way could she have it look the least bit messy when who knows how many people would be descending on her home this afternoon. 'I wish Aiko had some sense of time' she thought to her self. 'Oh well, at least it's important.' She finished cleaning, then went to wait outside for her friends. Luckily her Grandfather was gone, and with the head priest gone, fewer amounts of people stopped by.

She didn't have long to wait. Aiko and Misu were the first to arrive. Aiko grinned at her as she bounded up the steps, Misu barley keeping up with her. 

"Yo Ardi!" she said to her friend after clearing the last step in a rather athletic leap. "We figured we would try to get here a bit early since Misu and I will recognize the others."

"What about Annamika?" Misu asked the two. "Does anyone know how to contact her?" 

"She goes to my school, and I'm sure I can get her number. Why don't you two wait for the others here while I go call her? Oh hi Nokomis" Ardiana looked at the cat who had just finished climbing the steps.

"You two went to fast." She panted.

"Cats are supposed to be fast Noko." Aiko grinned at her.

"Well I'm not quite full grown yet. And no, I'm not a kitten." She glared at the girls.

"So would that make you a teenager like us then?" Misu winked at Aiko and Ardiana as she spoke.  The two of them, especially Aiko, had taken a habit to teasing the cat.

Ardiana laughed and walked into the temple. She only had to make two phone calls to get Annamika's number. She dialed it with shaky fingers. 'Please be there' she thought.

"Hello" Said the voice on the other end of the line.

"Hi, is Annamika there?"

"Yes she is, may I ask who's calling?"

"It's Ardiana from school." 

"Just a moment" Ardiana could still hear the person, only their voice was softer since they had pulled the phone away from their face. "Ann, phone call"

"Hi, Annamika" Ardiana said when the other girl picked up the phone. 

"Um hi Ardiana. What's up?"

"I was wondering if you could make it to the meeting at the Shinto temple. It's about the other night" Ardiana hoped she caught on to what she was saying. She felt a bit nervous saying 'guardian business' over the phone.

            "I'll be right over. Don't worry; I know how to get there." Ardiana heard the dial tone and hung the phone up. She walked outside to see Misu and Aiko talking with four other people. She didn't recognize the tall dark-green haired woman or the black haired girl, but the other two looked a bit familiar. 'Oh my god' shocked by recognition, 'its Noelani Kana and Lirit Marina. What is going on? I thought this was guardian business.' The thoughts raced through her mind as she numbly walked up the group. 

            Misu was the first to notice Ardiana, and saw the confusion on her face. She walked up to her friend and whispered, "They are the other guardians, Pluto, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune."

"Hello everyone" Ardiana said to the group. I'm Ardiana Nuri, welcome to the Shrine.  Do come in." she led them into her room, where they all somehow managed to get comfortable.

"So are we all here?" Tacy asked.

"We are just missing Jupiter and Moon," Toki replied. "I have a feeling they will be here soon. I'm Toki Michiko, also know as Pluto."

"I think they are here now" Lirit added.

"I'll show them in," Ardiana volunteered. "Be right back"  'Can they both be here?' she wondered as she went outside.  She stepped out into the sunlight and saw the blonde girl walking towards her, and a tall brunette standing uncertainly closer to the top of the steps.

"Hi Annamika" Ardiana called walking up to the girl. "I'll be right back" she continued walking until she was in front of the brunette.  "Can I help you with something?"

"I just felt like I should be here, all thought I don't know why. The name is Nariko Saskia." She looked at the raven haired girl nervously as she spoke. It was her first time at a Shinto shrine, and she had a feeling something important was about to happen.

'I feel something from this one' Ardiana thought. 'She feels like one of us. If she isn't we can take care of her.' She smiled at Nariko, "Come in. Some of my friends are over. I'm sure they would like to meet you. This is Annamika Hina" Annamika waved as Ardiana said her name.  Both girls followed her into the shrine and then into her room.  Nariko paled slightly as she felt everyone looking at her. There were more people in that room then she was used to being around. When Ardiana gave her and Annamika each a pillow, she gladly settled herself on the floor. She noticed a small black cat sit next to Annamika and a white-grey one next to Aiko.

"Well, I believe introductions are in order." Aiko was the first to speak. "I'm Aiko Kitoko, and I am Guardian Venus" 'I hope Nariko is one of us. Toki sounded confidant, so I hope its ok'

"I'm Misu Minerva. I'm Mercury"  "Ardiana Nuri, Mars"  "Annamika Hina, Moon"  "Toki Michiko, Pluto"  "Tacy Mitsu, Saturn."  "Lirit Marina, Neptune."  "Noelani Kana, Uranus."  "I'm Nokomis, advisor and friend to Venus"  "Neonis, advisor to Moon"

Nariko looked stunned when she heard the cat's speaking.  She looked around at the group and noticed they were waiting for her to introduce herself. "Nariko Saskia, friend of Aiko and Misu" she barely managed to form the words.  Somehow she felt like she should be saying more, but what she needed to say was just beyond her conciseness.  She felt like she could almost grasp what it was, but it was just beyond her reach. Unknown to her, but noticed by everyone else in the room, felines included, she started glowing green.  A green '4' shined brightly on her forehead.

            'She is Jupiter' Aiko, Misu, and Ardiana all thought at the same time.

            'Who am I?' Nariko thought as images started coming into her mind. They were very blurry at first, but rapidly gained clarity. She saw herself glad in green helping someone in orange. Suddenly it came to her. "Jupiter" she croaked, her mouth having gone dry. "I'm Guardian Jupiter, soldier of protection" She managed to speak louder that time.

            "How come she transformed into Jupiter but she didn't remember any of it?" Adrianna asked the group.  

            "Well, we outer guardians were the first to awaken, and some people do consider Jupiter to be one of the planets of the outer Solar system."  Toki explained.  "But during the Silver Millennium, Crystal Tokyo, and Tokyo of the 20th century, Sailor Jupiter was considered on of the inner senshi. She was one of the guardians of the Princess. She probably awakened as a soldier due to the planetary position of Jupiter, but yet her civilian form didn't remember because she is still and inner."

            "Now that we are all gathered, we should get down to business." Aiko addressed the group.

            "I thought we were here to meet the other guardians." Ardiana said.

            "We need to work out a plan" Misu continued from where Aiko left off.  "We were talking last night about what the enemy is planning. Remember when we destroyed Morrisa she said something about going after earth."

            "I'm planning on going back to Earth to see what I can find out" Toki told them.  "I was on earth a few weeks ago gathering information. The Earth has suffered from the enemy far worse then Virgo."

            "The black aura" Aiko stated. "I remember it from the space shuttle. Compared to Earth, Virgo is nice and green, alive almost. I lived in Tokyo Japan for many years, and it is one of the few places left on earth that is heavily populated. Most of Earth is barren and almost blackened.  I have been to different places on earth and have seen the aftermath of the enemy."

            "I can take you to Earth with me Aiko. You can help gather information." Toki said.

            "I would like to go to Earth also. I found out that my birth mother lives in Tokyo." Misu spoke up. 

            "We should have enough of us incase of enemy attacks on earth." Ardiana added. "Remember what Morrisa said about Earth?"

            "We should make sure some of us stay here, she could be throwing us off" Misu said.

            "My parents would never let me go to Earth. They never let me go anywhere, even on school trips" Annamika spoke up. "I can stay here and protect Virgo."

            "I'll protect the Princess." Nariko volunteered.

            "I will also." Noelani added.

            "I'll stay with Lani. Besides, we can communicate with Toki and the earth group." Lirit said.

            "I think I shall stay as well." Ardiana said. "With only my grandfather here I can leave easily, but I do go to the same school as Annamika. Besides, if we are needed on Earth, I can get on a shuttle really easily. My father's family is in the shuttle business."

            "I'll go to earth with Toki, Aiko, and Misu." Tacy stated. "That way we are closer to being split up evenly. The Princess is in good hands"

            "I'm not sure if my Grandparents will let me go." Aiko said. 

            "Same with my Mother." Misu added.

            "I can take care of that." Toki told them. "You are allowed to go some places right?" Both girls nodded. "Then we won't have to worry."

            "Did you want me to see about free shuttle tickets?" Ardiana asked Toki.

            "Thank you, but the shuttle takes to long. I have other ways of traveling." Toki smiled mysteriously. "Having Tacy with will help with that. It will take more power with four of us. I have a feeling we should hurry, the enemy is still following out on their plan. I might take you up on those tickets some other time. I try to avoid my method of travel if it is not necessary."

            "When do we leave and what should we bring?" Aiko asked Toki.

            "We leave early in the morning. We travel light; anything needed can be gotten on Earth." Toki replied.

            "I'll back up anything vital from my laptop onto Mercury computer." Misu said.

            "Good luck" Noelani said. Ardiana, Lirit, Nariko, and Annamika echoed the sentiment. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Thanks for reading, hope you liked that chapter. Let me know if you think things are moving to slow. Now here are the names like I promised in the last chapter.

Aiko Kitoko (beautiful beloved one): **Venus, Love**

Misu (Ripples in the Water) Naida (water nymph) Minerva (Goddess of wisdom):  **Mercury, Wisdom**

Ardiana Nuri (Fiery Flaming Lights):  **Mars, War**

Nariko Saskia (thundery protector of mankind):  **Jupiter, Protection**

Annamika Hina (Grace Goddess of the moon):  **Moon, Sanctity**

Toki Michiko (Timely beauty/wisdom):  **Pluto, Revolution**

Tacy Mitsu (Silent Light):  **Saturn, Rebirth**

Lirit Marina (musical grace from the sea):  **Neptune, Affinity**

Noelani Kana (Powerful heavenly sky):  **Uranus, Flight**


	8. Earth Bound

**himitsu-no-hi**** == thanks for the review. ~_^ I tried to keep the meanings of the names close to the original senshi.  I used babynames.com for all my characters, including the villains.  Kali is Hindi for dark goddess. **

**Part 8: Earth Bound**

            Aiko watched nervously as her Grandmother read the letter from Toki. 'I hope this works' she thought. 'Oba doesn't look like she will let me go. Toki sure got that letter ready fast.' 

            As Suki studied the letter, she felt that something wasn't right with it. 'Why would she leave on a school trip the day after they sent the letters out?' She read further and started to feel a little bit better. Somehow the letter was getting convincing. After what seemed like an eternity for Aiko, Suki folder the letter back up and handed it to the girl. "You may go. But be careful Ai-chan."

            "Thanks Obasan" Aiko Hugged her Grandmother and ran up to her room, taking the steps two at a time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Misu was going through the same thing as Aiko, only with her mother. Maya Minerva took about as long to read the letter as Suki did, and eventually came to the same conclusion. "You may go Misu, but be careful. Make sure you have everything you need."

            "Thank you Mother." Misu smiled. "I'll go pack now." She walked up to her room, just in time to hear the phone ring. She quickly picked it up. "Minerva residence, Misu speaking"

            "Hey Misu, its Aiko. Grandmother said I could go."

            "Good. My mother also said yes. Stop by my house at 8 and we can walk to Ardiana's together."  Misu referred to the plan to leave from the Shrine.

            "I have to get going, I'll see ya at 8 tomorrow." 

            "Ok, tomorrow then." Misu sighed as she heard the line disconnect. She peeked out into the hall to make sure her mom was busy before hooking up Mercury computer into her laptop. She started copying all her vital data over to the smaller Mercury computer, and slid it out of sight behind the laptop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            All 9 guardians and two felines were gathered in the yard behind the family residence of the Shinto shrine. It was an area closed to the general public, and thus provided them with some privacy.

            "Mercury, Venus and Saturn form a circle with me. Moon, Uranus, Neptune, Mars, and Jupiter, you form a circle around us." Pluto commanded to group. After all, they were using 'her' transportation method. One that she had tweaked to allow as many or few guardians as needed.

            "I would like to come too." Nokomis said to Pluto.

            "Very well, you can ride on Venus's shoulder." Pluto replied. Nokomis wasted no time hopping up onto her charge's shoulder, being careful of her claws.

            "We will contact you if anything changes here," Neptune told Pluto. She held up the communicator that Nokomis had given her. Pluto had modified all 9 of them for interplanetary communications. "This will certainly make it easier" she added.

            All nine guardians then got into their positions and used their power to Help Pluto transport her group to earth. After a flash of bright light, only 5 guardians and one cat were left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            When the group materialized again, they found themselves in a nicely furnished apartment overlooking a dark area of water. When Pluto nodded they all detransformed.

            "Tokyo bay." Aiko remarked looking at the water. "I'd recognize it anywhere."

            "We are in my Tokyo apartment." Toki told the group. "I have a few other places for us to stay as we check things out. However, I have a feeling that staying in Tokyo for awhile. Do you know any Japanese Misu?"

            "A little bit. I'd been studying about Japan, and after finding out about my birth mother, I started learning the language." Misu replied.

            "I know enough to get by." Tacy added. "I've been to Japan with Toki a few times, so I'm set."

            "I can help you if you need me to Misu." Aiko told her friend. "So what's the plan?" she asked Toki.

            "We need supplies; I can take care of that. I want us to go around the city and see if we can get any information on the enemy's whereabouts. We are to stay in touch on a regular basis. All four of us have communicators, try not to let too many people see you using them; we don't want to stand out."

            "Gomen Tokisan, but lots of people have different types of communication devices, and some of them are like our wrist model." Aiko pointed out.

            "Yes, but watch that you are not overheard, I doubt that other people would be talking about the same types of things as us. I also made sure our communicators are on their own 'channel'. This way no one except us guardians can hear our conversations."

            "When could I find my birth mother?" Misu asked Toki. "I know it's not part of our mission here, but I would like to speak with her. I have her address, and it's in this city."

            "Sure. You and Aiko can go find her while I get supplies. Tacy, start surveillance and see if you can find out anything. I'll keep any eye out as well."  Toki glanced out the window, and noticing the sky, she reached into a closet and pulled out four jackets. "It looks like rain sometime today. You might need one. Also here is some money should you need any, and cards for the mass transit." She handed the money out along with the Tokyo-metro cards.

            "We will be in touch, and keep a look out as well." Misu said, slipping into her jacket as she spoke. She pulled out Mercury computer and looked at the address one more time. Aiko used her ribbon to pull all her hair back before putting her jacket on as well. She looked at the address and the two of them were off. Tacy then Toki left shortly after them, Toki taking care to lock the apartment door and set her alarm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            The short dark haired girl made her way through the streets of Tokyo. She looked around as she walked. She was too absorbed in whatever she was looking for not to see the other girl walking in her direction. Both girls realized that too late as they had ended up on the dirty sidewalks.           

            "I'm terribly sorry about that." She stood up and offered a hand to the other girl. "I'm Tacy." Tacy helped her up and asked, "Are you all right?"

            "I'm fine." She let go of Tacy's hand and walked off. "Stupid girl" she muttered under her breath, failing to realize she was just as much to blame.

            Tacy watched the other girl walk off and shook her head. 'Some people.' Making sure no one else was around, she contacted Toki. ~Not too much here yet, although I did run into someone interesting. ~

            ~What do you mean by interesting? ~ Came Toki's reply.

            ~This girl and I walked into each other and something just felt wrong~

            ~Keep an eye out for her next time. ~ 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "I'm glad to be back out of those gloomy subway stations, if you can call this any less gloomy." Misu said to Aiko as they started down the street after riding the metro.

            "Gomen Misu. It does seam extra gloomy after being on Virgo for awhile. It must be worse for you since you were never here before." Aiko replied.  

            "Ai-chan!" Aiko didn't have time to turn around before being glomped by the overly energetic speaker.

            "Kana-chan!"  She exclaimed setting her friend down as she spoke.

            "Ai-chan, why didn't you tell me you were coming back? I barely even got to say goodbye to you when you left, and now here you are." Kanako pouted. "And who is this?" She asked, looking at Misu. 

            "Kanako Shinohara, meet Misu Minerva." Aiko made the introductions. 'Why now, we have too much to do. Poor Kana-chan, she did miss me though.'

            "What are you doing back? Did you decide to move home?" Kanako looked hopeful.

            "We are here visiting family." Misu said gently, hoping Kanako would get the message that this was a two person only outing.

            Kanako saw the serious looks on the faces of Misu and Aiko. "Will you be here for awhile at least? Maybe we can get together later?"

            "I might be. I still have your number; I'll call you if we are free." Aiko smiled at her friend and watched her walk off.  Somehow it reminded her of days gone by, ones that could never be again.

            "Shall we continue?" Misu asked once Kanako had left. "I'm starting to get nervous.

            "We are almost there." Aiko reassured Misu as they continued down the street. 'I wonder what Kanako was doing in this area. Oh well'

            The two of them walked on in silence until Aiko stopped and pointed out a house to Misu. The two of them walked up to the house, and Misu rang the bell. They only had a few minutes to wait before the door was opened by a slender dark haired woman. Her blue highlights just barley showed in the half-gloomy light of the day.            

            "What can I do for you?" She eyed the two girls. She didn't get many well intentioned visitors these days.

            "I'm Kitoko Aiko and this is Minerva Misu. We are looking for Mizuno Naiya." Aiko spoke to the woman, being careful to keep the names in the traditional Japanese order. She noticed the woman's face brighten after she introduced them.

            "I am Mizuno Naiya. Welcome to my home, Kitoko-sama Minerva-san." Naiya showed them into the living room then bolted the door shut. "Sorry I didn't recognize you Kitoko-sama."

            "It's all right." Aiko replied. "It has been awhile since there has been news about my mother."

            "Please have a seat; I'll be right back with some tea." Naiya disappeared into the kitchen.

            After both girls sat down Aiko whispered to Misu, "At least someone didn't recognize me. I hope we can get around town later without people stopping me."

            "I'm sure we will think of something." Misu reassured her friend as Naiya came back in the room.

            Naiya set the tea tray down on the coffee table. She served the girls first and then helped her self to a cup and sat down. "What can I do for the two of you?" she asked.

            "I'm adopted, and you are listed as my birth mother." Misu got right to the point. Somehow she managed to speak perfect Japanese, totally shocking Aiko.

            Naiya smiled slightly as she looked at Misu. 'My baby has come home.' She thought. "Yes, I am your mother. I see that Maya-san kept the name I wanted to give you."

            "You know my adoptive mother?" Misu was stunned.

            "A friend of mine had moved to Virgo a few years before you were born, and was good friends with Maya. She said that Maya couldn't have a child of her own, so I gave you to her after you were born."

            "But why did you give Misu to her?" Aiko asked. "Did you not want a child? My father never wanted me, so I had to move to Virgo to be with my grandparents."

            Naiya turned to Aiko. "I'm sure he didn't have anything against you personally. He probably just wasn't ready to raise a teenager on his own." She smiled at Aiko then pulled something out of her pocket, handing it to the girl. "I got this out of its hiding spot while the tea was brewing. I believe it belongs to you."

            Aiko examined the object carefully. It was a golden cylinder with a mirror on each rounded end. She gasped as she realized what it was. "The mirror Sailor V used to disguise herself." She stammered. "How did you get this?"

            Naiya looked at both Aiko and Misu. "Your questions about Sailor V's mirror and Misu's adoption are related. My ancestor, Mizuno Ami also known as Sailor Mercury kept that mirror safe, and handed it down through generations of her family so that it would continue to be safe.  As for me sending Misu to Virgo that was to keep her out of harms way. I feared for my own safety, and didn't want anything to happen to her."

            "You know about the senshi?" Aiko asked, stunned.

            "Yes, the house of Mercury, built on knowledge and wisdom kept the history of the senshi after the fall of Crystal Tokyo. I have to tell you of the good times of that era before you can understand why things are after the fall. In the 20th/21st century, Sailor Moon had her senshi that fought along side her and acted as her guardians protected that world. Those where the inner senshi, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and their leader from the Silver Millennium, Sailor Venus. Sailors Neptune, Uranus, Pluto, and Saturn guarded the solar system from invaders outside the realms. Once Crystal Tokyo was founded with Neo-Queen Serenity, the inner senshi lead by Venus were her still her guardians and the outers carried out their duties as well. Serenity was the first to have a child in the new Era. Her child grew and gained her powers, all the while no inner senshi had children to become guardians for Small Lady. By the time the inners had children of their own, Small Lady Serenity had her own guardians, the Asteroid senshi. Because they were her guardians, there was no need for the children of the inners to protect her.

            "The fall came shortly after Neo-Queen Serenity 2 gave birth to her Daughter. With the Asteroid senshi guarding her, and the children of the inners still to young for duty, she sealed the princess's powers. Serenity had no idea what the future held, and figured that with her powers sealed, the princess would appear to be a normal girl. Because none of the children of the outer or inner senshi had shown or had need for their powers, the senshi decided not to tell them about what had happened. However, after sealing the princess's powers, Serenity made 9 crystals, and each senshi put power into them for their children. They crystals were made to protect the children, and each bore the Kanji for their mother's guardian power. They came in handy during those dark days. The enemy that had caused the fall found the planet uninhabitable for their species and left, allowing mankind to flourish again. Because the Princess and her court were normal people, the earth settled into a pre-crystal Tokyo state. Eventually humans spread out in the solar system, and even beyond. 

            "After centuries, a new enemy from a different place attacked the earth. They were able to sense the power of the descendants of the senshi. The ones that they attacked were your mothers. Their powers had never been sealed, because they were thought powerless. Due to the fact that they were unaware of their heritage, they were unable to hide their power signature. You girls were lucky to have been passed over. With your younger ages, your power readings were too weak for them to sense. Also, you were fated to become the new protectors of humankind, the guardians."

            "What happened to the Asteroid senshi?" Aiko asked.

            "It was believed that they died in battle during the fall. Sailors Juno, Ceres, Vesta, and Pallas fought hard in that last battle. The time it took allowed the crystals to be made, and the children protected." Naiya paused for a moment before continuing. "That pretty much sums it up. The only reason I know as much as I do is because Sailor Mercury passed down the knowledge. She was the only senshi to go back on the pact of secrecy."

            "We have everyone gathered." Misu informed Naiya. "Pluto and Saturn came to earth with us, and Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune are on Virgo with the princess."

            "We came with Pluto on an information meeting, and Misu wanted to meet you." Aiko added.

            "I'm really glad that I was able to see you girls." Naiya smiled as she spoke. 

            "I am too." Misu replied. "I've always wondered what you were like. You couldn't have picked anyone better to raise me in your place though."

            "I have another question." Aiko spoke up again. "Our fukus are the same colors as the original senshi except for Guardian Moon's. Her's is gold and silver. Do you know why that is?"

            "Well," Naiya began. "My best guess is that it's because of her lineage. All of you are descended from your planetary senshi, except for Moon. When Endyminion married Serenity and had small lady, the houses of Moon and Earth were combined. The silver could be for the moon, and the gold for earth. The only other two houses to join were those of Neptune and Uranus, but there were two children from that union, one to represent the house of Neptune and the other the House of Uranus. The one child of Serenity represents two houses by herself."

            "I hate to say it, but Aiko and I should be leaving soon. I'm sure Toki has plans for us." Misu looked sad as she spoke.

            "It was wonderful to see both of you." Naiya told the girls. "If you're still in Tokyo feel free to stop by. I'm here if either of you need anything. You can reach me on the computer once you leave." Naiya hugged each girl before unbolting and opening the door. Aiko and Misu waved before heading out into the gloomy streets once again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well thanks for reading another chapter and let me know what you think. I was going to have a little interlude after the scene with Misu's mother, but it went a bit longer then I had planned. At least this way there is no cliff hanger. I promise there will be more action in the next chapter. ~_^


	9. Confusion

**Part 9: Confusion**

            Nokomis wearily opened her eyes and looked around. The bright light hurt her eyes, so she squinted. She slowly took in the new environment around her through half closed eyes. 

            'Where am I?' She thought. 'It doesn't look like Virgo, and this can't be Earth from what Aiko told me.' Feeling somewhat better, Nokomis dragged herself off the ground and walked around the park she found herself in. A young couple strolled past her and she caught part of their happy conversation. 'That sounds like Japanese. A bit different from what Aiko sounds like, but that's defiantly Japanese!' Nokomis blinked in surprise. 'But if that was Japanese, then this must be Earth. It doesn't make since.' 

            Nokomis made her way out of the park and started to walk down the crowded sidewalk. She kept looking around as she made her way around. She sighed as she rounded a corner, feeling completely lost when something caught her eye. 

            'That's Tokyo tower!' Nokomis made her way into a less crowded area to think. 'Well I made it to Tokyo, but not with Aiko and the group.' The realization of the situation hit her with force. 'It's not where I am, but when I am. This is Tokyo, but not Aiko's Tokyo. How do I get home?' Nokomis started to worry more. Stowing away on a shuttle was far easier then time traveling, especially when one doesn't even know when they are. Nokomis sighed and started wandering around again, hoping to find something that could help her.

*******

            "Call me Ardi." Aiko winked at Misu after having used the mirror. She ran a hand through her now black hair and smiled.

            "Sure 'Ardi', but we jut better not run into your friend since she will recognize me."

            "If she does recognize you and asks about me, tell her that I'm visiting family and that 'Ardi' decided to show you around. Kana might not even remember you anyways, she was too busy talking to me."

            "If you say so. Now let's keep an eye out for anything unusual." Misu looked around then back at Aiko. "What happened to Nokomis? I haven't seen her in awhile."

            'Ardi's' dark eyes widened in shock as Aiko remembered about the cat. "Come to think of it I haven't seen Nokomis since we got to Toki's place."

            "This is bad." Misu looked worried. "Are you sure you didn't see her at Toki's?"

            "Positive."

            "Then something must have happened to her while we were teleporting. We better talk with Toki and fast." Misu pulled out her communicator while the two girls started walking quickly towards the Subway stop.

*******

            "Why can't we go find her!" Aiko almost shouted at Toki. Luckily they were back at Toki's place so they wouldn't be overheard.

            "The chances of finding her are rather slim." Toki felt a pang of sympathy after Aiko's face fell. "My special method of transport involves traveling through the fourth dimension."

            "That's where the time gate is." Realization started to dawn on Aiko's face as she spoke.

            "True." Toki continued. "Being the soldier of Pluto entitles me to have some abilities with time, allowing me to travel the fourth dimension. You must understand that it is easy to get lost there and wander the far reaches for eternity. One could also end up in any time. Though the time gate is the official place to cross from one time into another, there are other ways. I've never heard of anyone succeeding though. They usually get lost in the outer reaches of the fourth dimension. I'm really sorry Aiko but there is nothing we can do."

            "I should have held on to her better." Aiko started crying and both Misu and Tacy gave tried to comfort her.

            "I wish I had good news for you. There is a chance she ended up some time else, but even in the remote chance she did, Nokomis wouldn't have a way to get back to the fourth dimension to come back to our time." Toki walked into the kitchen. "Since we are here we might as well have something to eat." 

*******

            'I feel and evil presence' Nokomis thought as she continued on her journey. What she heard next caused her to stop in her tracks.

            "VENUS LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK!" the attack was followed by the sound of something massive hitting a wall.

            Nokomis quickly ran around the corner being careful to stay under cover. The sight before her brought tears to her eyes. The beautiful warrior dressed in orange and yellow stood gracefully above some sort of Yoma. The yoma looked like it was in pain as it struggled to get up from the ground.

            "Not so fast!" the warrior exclaimed. "I am Sailor Venus, Solider of love and beauty and I will not allow you to harm innocent people!" 

            "Venus!" Nokomis cried out, forgetting the battle at hand.

            Venus sent a quick glance over in the direction of the cat. Not seeing Nokomis behind the chunk of broken wall, she looked back at the yoma in time to see it finish standing up.

            "I don't think so buddy!" Venus grinned as she readied her attack. "VENUS LOVE ME CHAIN!" The golden chain encircled the yoma, and with a wink Venus pulled it causing the yoma to fall.

            "MARS FLAME SNIPER!" "JUPITER OAK EVOLUTION!"  The downed yoma was singed then electrocuted. It howled in pain as it started to disintegrate.

            "MERCURY AQUA RASPODY!" finished it off.

            "Sorry we are late Venus." The one with the golden hair called as she leapt down into the clearing.

            "Let's get out of here before this place gets crowded." Mercury stated.

            "Good idea Mercury." Venus replied.

            "WAIT!" Nokomis threw herself out of her hiding place before they could leave. The senshi were shocked as they stared at the new cat, the new talking cat complete with crescent moon. 'The voice from before' Venus thought. She quickly scooped the cat up and leapt onto a nearby roof. Her action broke the shock of the rest of the senshi, and they followed her to a safe place to detransform. 

*******

            Nokomis looked around at the senshi, who were now in civilian form as they sat in the room inside the temple. She found herself to nervous to speak at the moment.

            "Perhaps we should introduce ourselves. I am Mizuno Ami, also known as Sailor Mercury." The blue haired one was the first to speak.

            "Hino Rei, I'm Sailor Mars."   "Kino Makoto, Jupiter." "I'm Tsukino Usagi, and also Sailor Moon. I'm the leader." "I'm Aino Minako, and Sailor Venus." "Luna, I'm Usagi's guardian." "Artemis, I'm Minako's guardian."

            Nokomis finally spoke up. "When am I?"

            Usagi laughed at that one. "Don't you mean 'where' am I?" 

            "I know that I am in Tokyo Japan on the planet Earth. I just don't know when." Upon seeing the looks on everyone's faces Nokomis continued. "I was traveling with my charge, and somehow I got separated."

"It's near the end of the 20th century."  Rei informed the cat.

            "How were you traveling?" Ami asked, Mercury computer in hand already running a scan.

            'Misu would be impressed.' Nokomis thought. "I don't want to say too much, but we were traveling from a planet from outside the solar system to Earth, via teleportation. One with the blood of Pluto was guiding us."

            "What do you mean 'with the blood of'?" Usagi asked.

            "Descended from." Luna answered. 

            Ami looked at her finished scan and then at the group. "Its obvious that Nokomis is from the future, and the scan showed as much. Also, If someone descended from Sailor Pluto lead you, they probably took a short cut through the fourth dimension. That's where the time gate is located."

            "How would I get back to my time?" Nokomis asked.

            "We'd have to find Setsuna, and we haven't seen her and the others after the defeat of Galaxia." Rei stated. "Gomen Nokomis."

            "I know how we can help!" Usagi grinned and pulled out an odd looking key. "Sailor Pluto gave this to me when we were fighting the Black Moon and had to get back from Nemisis."

            "Great idea Usagi." Rei said without any trace of sarcasm.

            "Then once we get to the time gate we should find Sailor Pluto and she can get Nokomis back where she came from." Ami finished.

            "But what if Setsuna well or for that matter, Sailor Pluto isn't there?" Minako asked.

            "Sailor Pluto is always at the time gate." Ami explained. "The fourth dimension isn't restricted to our normal flow of time, and the time gate always has to be guarded. So we should find Sailor Pluto at her post."

            "When should we leave?" Makoto asked.

            "The sooner the better." Nokomis answered. "I have to help my charge with her mission and training."

            "Lets make sure we are transformed first." Ami lead the group out into the back yard of the temple. Seeing that they were alone, she pulled out her wand. "  MERCURY CRYSTAL POWER MAKE UP!" 

            The rest of the senshi followed her example, and Nokomis and the other two cats were surrounded. At Mercury's nod, Sailor Moon lifted the key up into the air and called out. A pink light engulfed them, and before they knew what was happening, they were standing in the mists of the fourth dimension.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Thanks for reading, stay tuned for next time. Will Sailor Pluto be at the gate, and will the senshi and the cats even get there? Sorry if this is a bit short, but it seamed like a good ending place, and if you want an update this is what is getting posted. 


	10. Into the Mists

Just a friendly reminder: Aiko (Venus), Misu (Mercury), Toki (Pluto), and Tacy (Saturn) are on Earth (Tokyo at the present time). . . . . Annamika (Moon), Ardianna (Mars), Nariko (Jupiter), Noelani (Uranus), and Lirit (Neptune) are on Virgo. BSSM Senshi are Cameo roles to help Nokomis (I already have enough characters.)

**Part 10: Into the Mists **

Annamika sighed as they passed by what seamed like the 9 millionth store that day. Somehow Ardiana and Nariko thought it would be a good idea to check out some good deals while keeping a lookout for evil. True she liked shopping, but she just wasn't in the mood for it today.

Both Nariko and Ardiana kept a good eye on Annamika as they walked past the store fronts. Somehow they unconsciously felt the need to protect the strawberry-blonde girl. A few of the other mall occupants cast strange glances in their direction, but shrugged them off as close friends.

The three eventually came to the food court where they decided to eat. They picked a table away from the thinning crowd and sat down.

"I wonder if they have found anything yet." Annamika stated between mouthfuls.

Ardiana glanced at the girl before replying. "I'm sure if anything important happened they would have contacted us. Toki made sure we would be able to stay in touch." Adriana chose her words so that it would seam like an ordinary conversation.

"Well." Was as far as Nariko got before their communicators started going off. All three quickly tossed out the remainder of their late lunches and made it into the empty ladies room without so much as a second glance from the other people in the food court.

~Nariko here~ Nariko was the first to answer.

~Guys its Aiko. Something's happened to Nokomis.~

~What's wrong?~ Annamika asked.

~She disappeared on the way here. She never even made it to Toki's. If buy some long shot you see her, let me know immediately.~

Ardiana could hear the sadness in her friend's voice. ~Don't worry Aiko, I'm sure Nokomis will be fine. I here someone coming, we have to go now, talk to you tonight.~

~Bye~ was sent by all before closing the watch like communicators and pulling our hairbrushes from purses. The lady that came in didn't even give them a second glance as she made her way over to one of the stalls.

*******

"What do you have to report?" Kali asked her subordinate. 

"It seams as if the earth has gotten some power that Virgo had. I felt it."

Kali laughed. "Love, wisdom, revolution, and rebirth. Yes, Earth does have those powers for now. We still need the Earth before we can do anything else so stay there for now."

"Yes Kali-sama." Devi turned and vanished from the room.

"Things are getting to be most interesting aren't they?" Kali laughed again. The pair of eyes blinked from the far off darkness on the other side of the room while Kali was laughing. "We have spent too much time and resources on that pitiful planet to give up now."

*******

All five Senshi and three cats stayed close together while wandering through the mists. Luna cast a curious glance at Nokomis every now and then as they walked, but knew better then to ask anything about the future. The cat had to be from the future, Luna never heard of a grey and white striped cat from the moon kingdom times.

Mercury continued the scan with her computer as the group kept going. "We should be arriving at the time gate shortly." She informed the rest of the group. "Good thing the key left us somewhat close to it instead of in the far reaches." Mercury hid a smile as she heard Moon groan at the last statement.

 Sure enough, the faint outlines of a large object could just be made out in the distance through the mists. The Senshi almost had to squint to see it, the mists taking their toll on the travelers. 

"Stop right where you are!" Came a voice from the direction of the object. "No one is allowed here."

"Pluto!" Sailor Moon shouted. "It's us"

The Senshi broke into a run until they were standing a few feet in front of the time gate. Pluto lowered the time staff from its offensive position once she saw the group.

"Sorry for intruding Pluto, but we need to get Nokomis back to her time." Moon explained.

Pluto looked at the small cat and smiled an all-knowing smile. "Of course I'll make sure she gets to her time. Come up to the gate Nokomis." Pluto raised her staff as the cat walked towards the gate. Multicolored spheres of light flowed from the orb on the end of the staff and into the key hole on the gate. Slowly, but effortlessly the gate swung open. Once the gate was fully opened, revealing nothing but a while light, Pluto lowered her staff. "There you are Nokomis." She said softly.

"Thank you everyone, and farewell." Nokomis walked through the gate. Once she was gone Pluto turned to the Senshi and raised her staff again. They were surrounded by the same pink light that had brought them there and sent home.

            "Good luck Nokomis, you'll need it." Pluto softly said looking at the closed time gate.

*******

Misu looked up at Aiko after she sent the message to the others. The two of them had opted to stay at Toki's place for awhile. 'Poor Aiko. I hope she can get over this.'

"Find anything out on your computer?" Aiko asked referring to the scans that were running on mercury computer.

"No I haven't, sorry Aiko. There is no trace of Nokomis's power at all."

"If only I had paid more attention to Noko while we were traveling she would still be with us." Aiko hung her head while the tears started forming again.

"Why don't we go out for awhile?" Misu asked hopefully. "There have got to be some fun places in this city."

Aiko looked up with a wicked grin on her face and a gleam in her eye. "We could always go to Tokyo tower. I'm sure we can have lots of fun there."

Misu noticed the look on her friend's face, but decided not to press the issue. If Aiko actually had suggested a place to go then they would go. At least it would keep her from thinking about Nokomis. Besides, Misu had heard rumors about the tower from her research about Japan and wanted to run a few scans. A little bit of sight seeing never hurt either. "Sounds like a great idea Aiko."

"We can walk, it's not far." Aiko grinned as she used the mirror to look like Ardiana again and ran out the door. Misu followed, being careful to double check the locks on the way out.

*******

Devi grinned as she surveyed the people wandering around the area. 'This place is perfect.' She assumed her human disguise and made her way into the throng of people.

*******

"Wow, I didn't realize how tall it was!" Misu admired the tower. Both she and Aiko were standing at the base surrounded by the usual crowd around the tower. 

"And it's the number one tourist attraction in the area." Aiko said. "Long ago there used to be lots of great places, but most of them were destroyed. For some mysterious reason the tower survived practically unscratched." 

"It is pretty isn't it?" Said a new voice. Both Aiko and Misu turned to look at the speaker. An average looking girl with medium length dark hair smiled back at them. "I'm Izumi Megumi, pleased to meet you." Megumi nodded her head at the pair.

"I'm Nuri Ardiana, and this is my friend Minerva Misu." Aiko mentally sighed as she remembered the name to go with her disguise. 

"First time at the tower?" Megumi asked.

"Hai." Misu was pleased that she could speak the language so fluently. "This is my first time, but Ardiana has been here before" 'She has to have been' Misu thought.

Aiko nodded. "I've been here a few times before."

"Might I ask where you two are from?" Megumi asked.

"Osaka." Aiko answered. "both of us are from Osaka, and This is Misu's first time here."

"Oh that's nice." Megumi smiled at them. "You have good taste in your sight seeing."

"Okiini. Well, we were just taking our last look before we left. Enjoy your visit. Ohnana." Aiko turned and left, glad that Misu was leaving with her.

_{Authors note: Aiko's attempt at the __Osaka__ accent. Okiini is thank you and Ohnana is see ya. (And they are probably spelled wrong but oh well)}_

"What was that all about?" Misu asked once they were a block away from the tower.

"Something didn't feel right. People around here usually aren't the friendliest anymore, and she seamed almost fake." Aiko looked around while talking.

Misu was about to reply when they heard the screams. 

*******

Devi grinned as she watched her Yoma attack the crowd from her perch on one of the tower's beams. 'If Kali-sama is right about the four powers here this should get interesting, and Kali-sama is always right about those kinds of things. Today is observation day, no need to rush into things.' Devi laughed as more humans fell.

"VENUS WINK CHAIN SWORD!"

"MERCURY AQUA MIRAGE!" The yoma howled in rage and pain as it was send crashing into the ground with the two attacks. The people not injured or drained ran as fast as they could away from the scene. 

Venus watched as the yoma pulled itself back up into a standing position. The green 'skin' of the yoma was starting to drip onto the ground as it snarled at the guardians. "This is for Nokomis!" Venus screamed at their opponent. "VENUS ROLLING HEART VIBRATION!"     The attack hit the yoma dead center and split it in two. The two halves moaned before disintegrating into nothingness.

*******

Nokomis opened her eyes as soon as the light around her faded. The fist thing she saw was Tokyo tower. 'Great I'm back where I started.' After a quick look at the gloomy sky and the crowd of people and she realized that it wasn't the same Tokyo she had left earlier that day.

Suddenly screams pierced through the normal afternoon sounds. Nokomis set off running in that direction as fast as she could. She skidded to a stop as she rounded a corner and watched as two senshi faced off against some green yoma. Two attacks had just sent it to the ground, and Nokomis held her breath as it got back up. She almost felt faint when she looked closely at the warriors while they were standing still.

'It's Aiko and Misu!' Nokomis could have leapt for joy had there not been a battle going on. She watched Venus yell at the yoma then send her attack at it. 'Wow she's great when she's concentrating.' Nokomis realized that the battle was over and that the guardians were about to depart when something stopped them.

"Well done warriors.!" The dark one cackled. 

"Who are you?" Venus demanded glaring at the womanish figure.

"I think you knew one of my co-workers. I must say that you are more powerful then I had thought."

"Listen you witch, I asked you a question!" Venus's face was almost contorted in rage.

"Not very polite are we now?" Devi laughed. "Your lucky that I am merely observing today, otherwise your comments wouldn't go unpunished. Pity isn't it. Oh well, it will soon be over anyways"

Mercury put her hand on Venus's shoulder when she saw her friend starting to glow. Venus glanced at Mercury then back at Devi.

"Well, I really must be going now. If you girls really must know my name it's Devi. Remember that now, you'll wish you never heard of me. Bye now."

"Don't underestimate us" Mercury called out as Devi disappeared into the gathering dusk.

"Let's get out of here." Venus looked around at the people starting to gather again. The two leapt up onto the roof of a nearby building, Nokomis quickly hitching a ride on Mercury's shoulder. The guardian smiled at the cat as they made their way back to Toki's, detransforming before they arrived.

*******

"NOKOMIS!!!!!" Aiko hugged the cat after Misu handed her over. They were now back at Toki's, Misu had somehow smuggled the cat into the apartment without Aiko noticing.

"Air!" Nokomis gasped wriggling out of the girl's tight grasp on her.

"Good to see you Nokomis." Misu hugged the cat also, but much more gentally.

"I'm really sorry about loosing you." Aiko told the cat. 

"Its allright Aiko. I'm not really sure what happened anyways." Nokomis smiled at Aiko. "Anyways, I saw the fight and you were great Aiko. You hit that thing right in the center and you kept your attention on the fight. I'm proud of you."

"You saw the fight?" Aiko asked.

"Yes, and luckily I managed to jump on Misu's shoulder as you two left."

"Nokomis!" Tacy greeted the cat as her and Toki walked in.

"Glad to see you made it alright." Toki smiled at the group. 'Good to see Aiko happy as well.'

"She came back just as we were fighting some yoma." Aiko babbled as she pulled the cat onto her lap.

"We saw the fight." Tacy said. "Toki and I made it in time to see the final attack beat the yoma, and we waited to see what would happen."

"Why didn't you show yourselves?" Aiko asked. "We could have taken Devi down."

Toki laughed a merry laugh then looked at the group before speaking. "We are on an information gathering mission. We are not going to fight anything unless provoked, like a yoma attacking people. We were ready incase Devi wanted to attack, but it wasn't necessary."

"But what if we could have gotten rid of her?" Aiko pressed on. "That way we would have won and everything would be back to normal."

"Sorry Akio, this isn't going to be that easy." Toki explained. "Lirit Noelani and I, along with Tacy's help, have been gathering information on this enemy and taking out what we could along the way. Some of the battles we fought haven't been pretty. Besides, Devi has at least one superior. It's to early for the head villain to show themselves."

"So we continue gathering what information we can, and train for now?" Misu's question was more of a statement.

"Hai." Toki replied.

                                                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well that's it for that chapter. Please let me know what you think, it's hard to keep writing and wonder if it's all just wasted. I put the Authors note in the text so you wouldn't have to scroll down to the bottom just to find out what two words ment. Well off to sleep so I can get up early to do my homework for psychopharmacology and read for civil war. Ja matta.

**Next time: Plans, what will the guardians do? An interplanetary meeting over communicators, who would have thought? **


	11. Plans

**Kreskin** ==} thanks for the review. I'm still working on this story; it's just that I didn't get around to updating in awhile.  Hope you like the battle scene in this chapter. I'd been planning on using one of the attacks for awhile now. ~_^ 

**Part 11: Plans.**

Annamika brushed a loose strand of strawberry-blond hair out of her face as she hit the buttons on the arcade game. "This isn't fair!" she protested as her car went off the track.

            "I win." Ardiana cheered as her car crossed the finish line. "Better luck next time Ann."

            "Who wants to play me in Mortal Kombat?" Nariko asked the other two.

            "I don't care for that violent game." Ardiana declined.

            "No way." Annamika replied. "You always win that one, Nariko."

            "I'll play." Noelani's statement caused the three younger girls to turn around. Noelani was dressed in jeans and a dark blue shirt, while Lirit had on a skirt with a sea green top.

            "So have you three done anything besides video games today?" Lirit asked the girls.

            "Nariko took us to her dojo and made us join." Annamika slightly whined. "The sensei wanted to test us to see which class for us to join, so we had to work out."

            "At least you're in the same class as me." Ardiana replied. "Nariko already has her black belt so she's in a different class." She explained to the older girls.

            "Where we going to play or not?" Noelani started walking back to the mortal kombat game, and Nariko hurried after her.

            "Lani has a weakness for fighting games." Lirit told Annamika and Ardiana.

            "So does Nariko." Annamika stated. "But I don't play against her anymore because she always wins."

            "RPG games are my favorites." Ardiana added. "I like something with strategy. I really don't care for the pointless violent games."

            The three of them walked to the other side of the arcade as they finished talking. They found Noelani and Nariko just as they had finished the game.

            "I can't believe I lost!" Nariko exclaimed. "I want a re-match!"

            "Maybe another time, Nariko." Annamika told her friend. "We have to get to the temple soon so the others can contact us."

            "They were going to report soon weren't they?" Lirit asked.

            "Yes, we set up a particular time so we could make sure we were in a private place when they called." Ardiana explained.

*******

            That afternoon Misu, Aiko, and Tacy were gathered in Toki's apartment. Toki walked into the living room with drinks for everyone then settled herself on the couch.

            "It's evening in New Hope, and its just about time for our meeting." Toki told the small group.  She waited a few moments before opening her communicator. ~Toki here, are you all ready? ~

            ~ Yes. Lirit here. Lani, Annamika, Ardiana, and Nariko are here with me. ~

            ~ What do you have to report? ~ Toki asked.

            ~ Nothing unusual here so far. ~ Lirit's voice could be herd as she replied.

            ~ What do you mean 'so far'? ~ Aiko asked over her communicator. 

            ~ My mirror has been cloudy ~ Lirit's voice stated.

            ~ I've been having visions as well ~ Ardiana's voice could be heard.

            ~ Keep an eye out and be careful then. ~ Toki responded. ~ Let us know if there is any enemy movement in your area. ~

            ~ How are things on earth? ~ Noelani's voice could be heard again.

            ~ Someone named Devi showed up and Misu and I fought her yoma. She said she was just observing that day. ~ Aiko told them.

            ~ Be careful. ~ Lirit's voice could be heard again. ~We have to be going now; some of the girls are expected home soon. ~

            ~ Let me know when a good time to touch base again is. ~ Toki replied. ~ Until then be careful.~

            ~ Good bye ~ Toki turned off her communicator after Lirit finished speaking and Aiko followed suit.

            "So what are the plans for the rest of the afternoon?" Aiko asked.

            "We can rest for now; it will be time for dinner soon anyways." Toki replied.

            "I can run some scans then." Misu said as she pulled out the Mercury computer and started up a few programs.

            "What are you scanning?" Tacy asked.

            "I'm checking some of the magical power levels in the area, especially around Tokyo tower." Misu replied while changing a few of the parameters. "I also have a program hacking into the police database to see if I can find anything unusual."

            "Isn't that illegal?" Tacy asked.

            "What if you got caught?" Aiko chimed in

            "Don't worry Aiko." Misu looked up at the blonde. "The Mercury computer can tap into any database without leaving any sign of being there like any other computer would. It's a combination of magic and Mercury technology. And yes I'm sure it's illegal, but this is a good way to gather information without risking anything."

            "Good idea Misu." Toki complimented her. "Now you can all keep yourselves entertained while I take a bath."  She picked up her mug of green tea and headed into the bathroom.

*******

            "Why are we here again?"  Nariko asked.  She, Ardiana, and Annamika were standing near the area where they fought Morrisa.

            "I had a vision the other night of something happening here." Ardiana replied. Suddenly she shuddered and pulled the others farther into the alley. "Transform" she hissed. "Mars Guardian power make up!"

            "Moon Guardian power make up!"   "Jupiter Guardian power make up!"

            "So the little guardians have decided to come out and play." A voice could be heard. "DARK MISTS!" 

            A dark mist covered the area, even seeping into the alley. Mars stepped out into the edge of the area outside the alley. Moon and Jupiter followed closely behind her.

            "MOON TWIGHLIGHT FLASH!" Guardian Moon aimed her attack into the center of the dark mist. The mist slowly faded revealing a dark figure. "Light always conquers the dark! I am Guardian Moon protector of the light.."

            "DARK BOLTS!" the feminine figure shot her attack at all three of the guardians.

            Mars saw the attack and threw herself at Moon, knocking them both out of the way. Jupiter walked out from behind a tree at readied herself for an attack. "JUPITER COCUNT CYCLONE!" The energy flew at the figure, but was absorbed by shields in front of her.

            "That didn't work on Morrisa; do you really think that would work on me?"  The figure chuckled as she watched Moon and Mars stand back up. With the rest of the mist gone her fitted black dress and dark skin could be seen. She flipped a lock of pitch black hair over her shoulder and glared at the guardians.  "I Sauda will be the death of you warriors. I never got to surpass Morrisa while she was still alive, so killing you will have to suffice for now."

            "MARS SNAKE FIRE!" Mars fired her attack only to have it absorbed by the shields.

            "Good now I have all three of your energies, now die!" Sauda's hands started glowing white, then green and red. "ENERGY BLASTER!"

            "TIARA STARDUST!" the sparkles that flew out of Moon's tiara met the oncoming energy and absorbed some of it, but the rest hit the guardians before they could get out of the way. Moon took the worst hit as she hadn't as much time as the other two.

            Sauda had a feral grin on her face as she looked at the downed warrior. Mars and Jupiter pulled themselves up and made sure Moon was alright before turning to face the dark one.

            "It's all over now." Sauda chuckled. "I doubt you can take much more, and this is a perfect time while your reinforcements are on Earth." She laughed as two weak attacks hit her shields. "You really don't know when to give up do you. Oh well, more fun for me…" Sauda screamed as she went flying and hit a brick wall. "What the hell!" She sat up as she spoke.

            "You forgot about us." Uranus had just stood back up before talking. Neptune was standing beside her. The throw move had taken a bit more then she thought, but it still worked.

            "VIOLIN TIDE!" Neptune watched as part of her attack hit Sauda before she could reinforce her shields which had become disrupted when she hit the wall.

            Sauda pulled herself into a standing position and faced the five warriors. "I didn't know there were more then one of you that could do physical attacks. Oh well, I'll just have to be careful now."

            Moon managed to sit up while Sauda had gotten off of the ground. Mars and Jupiter helped her stand. 

            "I might be able to take her shield down for a moment if you have a strong attack." Mars whispered to the group.

            "Get ready, and when I say so do it then." Uranus softly replied. "Anyone else can attack after Neptune and me."

            "Oh planning will do you no good." Sauda mocked the guardians. "My shields can withstand your most powerful attacks so there is nothing you can do." 

            "NEPTUNE!" Uranus shouted. She started to glow dark blue.

            "URANUS!" Neptune followed suit, only her aura was aqua blue.

            "Ooooh a glowing trick." Sauda laughed. "DARK…"

            "FLOWER HURRICANE!" Jupiter attacked. The electrically charged flower petals blocked Sauda's view and allowed Uranus and Neptune to continue powering up.

            Mars started to power up also when Jupiter attacked. She saw Uranus's wink and released her energy into an ofuda. "Akuro Taisan!" She shouted at the glowing paper and threw it at Sauda.  

            Neptune and Uranus were now standing next to each other and glowing the same blue color. Neptune raised her Arms up while Uranus pushed hers forward. "SEA SKY BLAST!"  The waves of energy flew towards Sauda and arrived just after the ofuda caused the shields to spark.

            "MOON ROSE SURPISE!" Moon's energy flower blasted at Sauda and caught up with the other attack.

            The dark warrior screamed as the attacks past where her shield's had been a moment before and hit her square in the chest. She continued to scream and yell as she fell to the ground and started to fade out.

            "SAUDA!" A voice echoed from somewhere.

            "Kali-sama!" Sauda gasped looking up at the mass of dark energy forming above her. She screamed yet again as the dark energy shot out from the mass and hit her. Slowly she started to float up until her semi-transparent body reached the mass. There was a slight popping sound as the two were merged into a larger dark mass then disappeared.

            "What the hell was that?" Jupiter shouted,

            "We better get out of here." Mars noticed that people were starting to investigate the noises they had herd. "Let's go." She jumped back into the Alley and the others followed her.

*******

            "Now Sauda you do it this way." Morrisa glared at the other woman. "It's not that hard, even weak magic users can use this spell."

            "Gomen Morrisa-sempai." Sauda stared at the dark ground. 'Why me? Why Morrisa?' She thought bitterly. 

            "Pay attention." Morrisa demanded as she slapped Sauda across the face. "Someone of my status shouldn't have to waste my time training others."

            "Having fun Morrisa." Devi chuckled as she walked up to the others.

            "Shut it Devi." Morrisa growled at her. "You think this is fun don't you."

            "Actually yes I do if you must know." Devi looked at Morrisa then at the red mark on Sauda's face. "If you would have listened to Kali-sama she wouldn't have punished you."

            Sauda grinned at Morrisa's reaction. 'So that's why I'm stuck with her.'

            "Well if you will excuse us Devi, I have to train this incompetent, if that's even possible." Morrisa stared at Devi as she shrugged and walked off. Seeing Devi leave Morrisa turned back to Sauda who stopped grinning before Morrisa could see. "Well let's continue with this waste of my time." 

            "Hai Morrisa-sempai." Sauda replied. 'Just wait Morrisa, some day I will be better then you."

            Sauda groaned as the flood of memories assaulted her. Remembering her training with Morrisa was still painful. She started to become aware of her surroundings. The floor was smooth and cold and a very dim light penetrated her closed eye lids. 

            "Well you're awake."  The voice caused Sauda to open her eyes and look up at who was speaking to her. 

            "Kali-sama." Sauda pulled herself up and bowed. "I'm sorry I failed you."

            "You did not fail me child." Kali grinned as she saw Sauda shudder at being referred to in such a way. 'She still has anger in her; Sauda will still be of use to me.' Kali thought before she started speaking again. "While you didn't eliminate those warriors you did show their strengths and weaknesses."    

            "Thank you Kali-sama." Sauda replied as she straitened up. 

            "Now you must rest and get your strength back." Kali commanded. "Do not go out again until I give you orders, is that understood?"

            "Hai, Kali-sama." Sauda bowed and walked out of Kali's chamber.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope you liked that chapter, I know it took awhile. Too much school work and not enough time. Hopefully I'll be able to update more often this semester since I'm only taking 4 classes.

            About the attack Neptune and Uranus did: Remember the part where Misu's biological mom told her and Aiko that the houses of Neptune and Uranus were joined but there were two children? Well Neptune and Uranus each have their own powers, but because each has a bit of the other blood line in them they can do that joint attack (I had been thinking about that one for awhile, just needed a good enough battle to use it in.) Moon had the rose attack because she is also descended from our dear tux mask (I was trying to figure out a way to change the 'tux smoking bomber attack' but the rose worked for now I guess)

            And the name **Sauda** means dark beauty.


	12. Past and Present

Part 12: Past and present

            Aiko felt the cold rain hit her face, mingling with the warm tears that were falling. She took a deep breath and set down the flowers next to the grave marker. "I miss you mother," she sobbed. Aiko remained kneeling in the damp grass as she was lost in the memories of happier times.  After an immeasurable amount of time passed by she spoke again.  "Grandmother and Grandfather have taken good care of me. I have new friends in my new home as well. It is nice to be living in the same place and going to the same school." Aiko paused, thinking about what she had said. "I did enjoy traveling with you Mother.  I miss our times together"

            Misu wiped a tear away from her own eye as she watched her friend from a short distance away. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up at Naiya, the birth mother she had so recently met. Misu was suddenly glad that they had brought Naiya with them; it was nice to be with someone as she waited for Aiko.

            Aiko remained silent thinking about one of the more interesting trips she had taken with her Mother.  Her father had come along with them on a mission to the colony on Mars. The recently formed community of Aries was having trouble governing themselves, and Kitoko Hikari was assigned to the negotiations.  Hikari had worked hard to bring the two feuding factions to agree, and decided afterwards to spend a little vacation time with her family before they returned to Japan. Even though Aiko had only been six at the time she never forgot looking out at the deep red Martian skies with her parents. That had been before her Father's promotion that kept him in Tokyo.

            A presence beside her brought her back to the present time. Thinking it was Misu Aiko stared at the grave longer, wanting to think about pleasant times for a bit longer. She had just started to think about another trip when she realized that the presence beside her was not her friend and carefully stood up before turning around at looking at the person next to her.

            "Father!"  She gasped, seeing Kitoko Shiro in front of her. 

            "I miss her too you know." His quiet words gave no indication of how he was feeling. He simply gazed at the daughter he hadn't seen in over a year. After the death of Hikari, Aiko had been sent to stay with a distant cousin until permanent arrangements could be made.

            "More then you miss me?" Aiko's biting words had an effect on her father as he lost his mask of nonchalance. 

            "I miss you too Aiko." The pain was now evident on Shiro's face as he spoke to Aiko. "Here is not the place to talk of such matters." He offered his hand to Aiko who slowly took it as they walked towards the entrance of the cemetery. Aiko stopped as they came closer to Misu.

            "I have to talk with my Father," Aiko quietly stated to Misu and Naiya. Naiya nodded in understanding and Misu promised to meet her at Toki's later.

            Aiko and Shiro walked in silence as they made their way through the city, neither looking at the other. Aiko was trying to figure out her father's actions so she wasn't paying attention to the direction they were heading.  When they walked up to a gate and Shiro opened it, she realized that it was a different house then the one their family had lived in.

            Aiko looked around as they entered the house, she barley noticed her father hanging up her soaked coat as she handed it to him. The décor of the house was much darker then that of the old house. Hikari had favored bright colors, and the house had often given off the feeling of warm sunlight. This house was dark, Aiko noted, but it wasn't depressing. 'Whoever Father hired to decorate must have been good to tastefully use this many dark colors.' Aiko thought.

            ***

            "Do you think she will be all right?" Misu asked Naiya as the two of them sat in the small living room where they had had tea with Aiko before.  Each had a cup now as they chased away the damp chill the rain had left in them.

            "She should be fine." Naiya assured her daughter. "It's always a good thing to talk through your feelings, remember that Misu. And Aiko sounded like she needed to talk to him."

            "Thanks Naiya." Misu smiled feeling a little relived. "I just hope everything works out for her."

            "I'm sure it will." Naiya stated. "After all she has friends that care about her to help her through these tough times." 

            "I think I need to talk to my mother when I get home." Misu said. "She told me about being adopted, but I never told her that I wanted to find my birth mother."

            "Did you think that she might feel that you wanted your real family?" Naiya looked Misu square in the eyes as she asked that question, and the look on the girl's face confirmed her suspicions. "Misu you have nothing to worry about. I'm sure she would understand your curiosity to find out about your roots." Naiya paused after seeing the doubtful look on Misu's face. "Do you love her?" 

            "Yes, I do love her." Misu answered. "I love her as my own mother and I know she loves me, I just don't want to hurt her."

            "Families are more then blood." Naiya responded. "Love is more important, and I know she loves you. She also knows that you love her, wanting to find me does not diminish your feelings for her. It's natural for someone to want to know where they come from."

            "Thank you Naiya." Misu reached over and hugged her as she spoke. "I think I just needed to hear someone say that. I promise that I will tell her about meeting you when I get home."

            "I'm glad." Naiya pulled Misu closer, happy to help her through her own tough times.

***

            Aiko looked up at her father, waiting for him to start talking.  After leaving their coats in the front closet Shiro had taken Aiko into his sitting room, and they were now on a sofa next to each other.

            Gathering her courage, Aiko spoke up. "What did you want to talk about?"

            Shiro looked at his daughter and started to speak. "I have missed you Aiko. I want you to know that."

            "Then why did you get rid of me after mother died?" Aiko furiously wiped the tears off her face before continuing. "You never even came to visit me before I left for Virgo. The only one to say goodbye to me was Kanako."

            "I couldn't say goodbye to you." Shiro wrung his hands together as he spoke. "I didn't want to watch you leave."

            "Then why did you let me?" Aiko asked. "Why didn't you let me live with you?"

            "I wanted to Ai, I wanted to." Shiro was now wiping tears from his own face. "I was devastated when your mother died so suddenly like that. It hurt to look at you."

            "Why?" Aiko cut in.

            "You look just like her, Ai." He said between sobs. "Every time I looked at you I saw her and went through the pain of her death. I should have been there for her but I failed. She died because I wasn't there. I couldn't let the same thing happen to you too."

            "I promise you it wasn't your fault." Aiko cried as she threw her arms around her father. "There was nothing you could have done Papa, there was no way you could have known what was going to happen."

            "You understand?" Shiro asked as he continued sobbing.

            "Hai, I forgive you Papa." Aiko slightly smiled as she felt her father return her hug.

            "My little girl is growing up." Shiro pulled away just enough to look at Aiko as he spoke to her.

            "Yes I am." Aiko replied with a grin. "I'm old enough to understand what you are going through, and I'm here for you if you need me."

            "I thought I was the parent here." Shiro laughed.

            "I never said you weren't." Aiko's grin turned into a big smile as she replied.

            "Would you ever consider moving back to Tokyo?" Shiro asked.

            "I don't know." Aiko replied. "I love Grandma and Grandpa and I have many more friends in New Hope then I have ever had before. They need me right now." After seeing the smile fade from Shiro's face Aiko quickly continued, "I love you too Papa."

            "I know you do Ai." He pulled her back into the hug for a few moments before continuing. "I understand that you are settled into your new home. I'll always be here if you need me."

            "I know." Aiko replied. "I'll make sure I visit often. One of my friend's has a family in the shuttle business so I can get tickets for cheap."

***

            "It's been quiet since we fought Sauda." Lirit looked over at Noelani as she spoke."

            "Too quiet," Noelani agreed. "It would be nice to know their plans. Are they after Earth or Virgo, or both?"

            Lirit nodded before speaking. "Even though our strength is split at the moment at least both planets have some protection."

            "And Toki can get them back here quick if we need them, or get us over there." Noelani paused and ran a hand through her short hair. "Shall we go see what the little ones are up too?"

            "Lani!" Lirit shot her a reproaching glare. "You shouldn't call them that, and Ardiana gets upset when you call her 'firebug'."

            "Fine I'll be careful." Noelani shrugged. "At least Mika doesn't say anything when I call her 'Rabbit'."

            Lirit just sighed and moved closer to Noelani as they left.

***

            "MARS SNAKE FIRE!" the flames shot out towards their target. "MOON TWILGIHT FLASH!" the bright light hit the oncoming flames and the two attacks exploded halfway to Guardian Moon.

            "Not bad Moon," Mars congratulated her teammate. "Your power is increasing."

            "Now if you to could get those attacks to combine and explode by an enemy." Jupiter thought of the possibilities, then had to ready her own attack as Mars and Moon aimed directly in front of her and attacked again. "JUPITER COCUNUT CYCLONE!" the electricity met the fire and the light at the moment the two attacks had merged. However there was no explosion this time, only a bright flash of light as the three attacks merged. When the three guardians were able to see again, Jupiter was behind Mars holding the fire warriors arms behind her back. Jupiter grinned as Mars glared at her then released her arms.

            "Why didn't the attacks explode?" Moon asked Mars and Jupiter.

            "The angle they hit at was wrong." Neptune said as she and Uranus walked into the secluded area behind the shrine. "Moon used her attack the first time to counter Mars's fire, but the second time it was closer to a combined attack."

            "Oh." Moon looked at the new arrivals. "Come to train too?"

            "If you want us to." Uranus grinned. 

            "Want to spar Uranus?" Jupiter asked hopefully. She was itching to try out hand to hand combat with another guardian.

            "You're on." Uranus rushed at Jupiter, going for a throw, but Jupiter dodged and did a high kick. Uranus grabbed Jupiter's leg and caused her to loose her balance. Jupiter twisted her leg free from Uranus's grasp before she hit the ground and managed to roll and jumped back up to her feet.

            "Not bad." Jupiter grinned as she faced Uranus again.

            "Not bad yourself." Uranus replied as she stood in a defensive position waiting for Jupiter to come at her.

            "You don't think Jupiter wants revenge for that Mortal Kombat loss do you?" Moon whispered to Mars and Neptune.

            "She probably wants a good chance to practice her fighting skills." Mars replied. "You know she surpasses us in that regard. Good thing Uranus is here."

            "I know. We get a break." Moon laughed. "I want to try some of my other powers." She started concentrating and as she did, Moon started to glow sliver. "MOON ROSE SURPRISE!" The flower was twice as big as the one her attack produced in the fight with Sauda, and when it hit the target it left a large hole. "Yes!" Moon cried happily then sat down, beads of sweat evident on her face.

            Mars and Neptune both congratulated Moon before readying attacks of their own. Luckily there were plenty more targets to aim at.

***

            "Sauda!" Kali summed her warrior who appeared in the command room.

            "Hai, Kali-sama." Sauda bowed before standing up and waiting for her instructions.

            "I want you to keep sending yoma down to Virgo, but do not fight those pests yourself." Kali ordered.

            Sauda hid her disappointment at not getting a chance to take the guardians on again. "As you wish Kali-sama."  Sauda waited for Kali's wave of dismissal then returned to her own quarters. 'I can still use the yoma to my advantage.' She thought to herself. 'Even before my "lessons" I was still better at planning then Morrisa.' Sauda grinned and started to formulate a plan.

***

            "I have something for you," Shiro informed his daughter as he stood up. He walked out of the room only to return a few minutes later with a small package wrapped in orange paper.  "I got it for you for your last birthday." He told Aiko as he handed the package too her.

            "Thanks," she replied as she tore open the paper, reminding Shiro of the way she always opened presents. "The entire Sailor V manga disk!" Aiko exclaimed. "How did you get this? The version I have is only part of the manga, I thought the last volume was destroyed before it could be scanned onto disk." 

            "You had already left when there was an announcement from Manga Disk. I guess there had been another volume in a storage facility that the company recently purchased. I thought it would come in handy. Sailor V is your favorite character isn't she?"

            "Hai." Aiko replied happily. 'More then you know' she thought. "Thank you for the manga disk Papa. I really must be going now; my friends will be waiting for me."

            "Make sure you stop by before you return to Virgo."

            "I will." Aiko promised. The two of them walked down the front door and Shiro helped Aiko with her coat before giving her a good-bye hug and warning her to be careful.

            "Where is she staying?" He wondered out loud after Aiko had left.

***

"I'm back," Aiko announced as she walked through the door of Toki's Apartment.

"Welcome back Aiko," Misu greeted, followed by Toki and Tacy. Aiko sat down next to Misu and put her new disk into the new manga reader she had purchased. She skipped to missing volume and read as Misu continued to program the Mercury computer. 

"I wonder if the enemy we are fighting now is set up like the dark kingdom in the manga." Aiko said idly as she finished the last part.

"This is a different enemy though," Tacy replied.

"There has to be somebody or something besides Devi and Sauda though," Misu said. "Nariko saw a dark mass take Sauda after their fight."

"I agree with Misu." Toki stated. "Sauda and Devi are not our only concerns. They must have a superior giving them orders."

Misu's computer started to beep at that moment causing her to look at the screen. "We have to go to Tokyo tower." Misu stood up as she spoke. "Something is causing massive power fluctuations."

"Hai." Aiko started out the door followed by Misu, Toki, and Tacy.

***

            Devi grinned as she floated above Tokyo tower. She had selected just the right place to watch the progress of her energy drain without being seen. The yoma she had picked blended in well with the humans as it stood in the center of the top floor of the tower. The mobs of people went about their business not noticing the slight drain of their power. 

            'Soon the Earth will be devoid of all living energy and we will have it for ourselves.' Devi thought. She pushed her hands forward and they started to glow as energy started coming from the Earth itself.

***

            "Over there, Venus." Mercury pointed at the human with the abnormal power signature that her visor picked up. Venus winked and stepped out from around the corner as Mercury let loose a blanket of fog.

            "VENUS WINK CHAIN SWORD!" Venus unleashed her attack at the unsuspecting yoma. It screamed as it was hit and dropped its human appearance. It now had dark grey skin and stood a foot taller then it had before.

            "This way, hurry!" Saturn led another group of people to the stair well and watched them start their decent. 'I hope Pluto found the rest of them.' She thought as she gathered up the last few people near her and guided them to the stairs.

            "MERCURY SHINE SNOW ILUSSION!"  Snow started to form around Mercury's hands before shooting out at the yoma. Its red eyes flashed as it moved to step out of the way. Mercury had been ready for that and part of the snow blast headed towards the yoma and hit it square in the chest area. The now visibly weakened yoma started to power up and glared at Mercury. Before it could release the bit of energy into an attack, the silence glaive sliced it strait through the middle causing it to be no more.

            "Thanks Saturn." Mercury grinned and Venus gave them a V sign. In the time it had taken to defeat the yoma all of Mercury's fog had dissipated.

            "DARK BOLTS!" The attack hit Mercury strait in the back knocking her to the ground. Saturn and Venus quickly turned to see Devi walking through the wall into the area where they were. "So you think you won simply because you defeated an energy gathering yoma who had no fighting skills?" Devi mocked them.

            "CHRONOS TYPHOON!"  The dark red energy of the attack left the time staff and hit the back of Devi's shields, causing her to turn. Pluto took another step so that she was out of the stair well.  "No one said anything about winning, yet." Pluto had a slight grin on her face as she held her staff in front of her.

            "And do you think that one more of you are going to be enough to defeat me?" Devi laughed at that idea. 

            "No one said anything about only one more of us either." Pluto moved away from the entrance to the stair well. As she did so, Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, and Uranus walked out and into the main area.

            "So there are a few more pests for me to deal with." Devi hid her surprise about the other guardians showing up. Last time she spoke to Kali they had still been on Virgo. 'Isn't Sauda keeping them occupied with her yoma?' she wondered as she glared at her foes.

            "We will not be defeated so easily," Mercury countered Devi as Saturn helped her stand. In the time it took Pluto and the others to walk in, Saturn had healed some of her injuries.

            "We are the Guardians, protectors of the human race." Venus picked up where Mercury had left off. "We will defeat all evil."

            "And that means you!" Moon finished off the little speech. 

            "DARK BOLTS!" Devi grew tiered of hearing the guardians so she attacked. She aimed at the group in the center of the area, hoping to take the weakened Mercury out.

            "SILENT WALL!" Saturn was quick to react, throwing up a purple barrier before Devi's dark energy could hit any of them.

            "So you think you can defend yourselves now do you?" Devi mocked them again, and grinned as she thought of her next move. "DARK MISTS!" The dark energy oozed away from Devi and soon filled most of the area. "DARK BOLTS!" Devi fired at the spot where Mercury and Saturn were after appearing on the other side of the main area.

            "MOON TWIGLHT FLASH!" Moon let loose her light attack, and in the matter of a few seconds the darkness had vanished leaving the area visible again. When Devi opened her eyes after the bright flash she saw the guardians had scattered and that she had only managed to damage a wall.

"Now!" Venus yelled out. On her command the guardians powered up and sent their attacks out at Devi. Her shields stopped most of the attacks, but some of Mars' fire got through and Devi cursed them.

"You think you won, you only just managed to hit me." Devi spat out as she stood back up to her full height.

"No one said anything about winning, you monster!" Moon yelled. "I'm sick of you." Moon paused a moment as a new bit of knowledge came to her. "Moon guardian power!" She started glowing silver and gold as her power level increased.

"We can do it." Venus called out. "Venus guardian power!" 

The others quickly followed Moon and Venus. "Mars guardian power!"  "Mercury guardian power!"  "Jupiter guardian power!"  "Neptune guardian power!"  "Uranus guardian power!"  "Pluto guardian power!"  "Saturn guardian power!"   

Devi watched the guardians power up and started to power up as well. She had a swirling dark mass around her, but the guardians were ready before her.

"GUARDIAN POWER UNLEASH!" All nine of them shouted at the same time, causing energy to fly away from them and turn into a bright white as it combined. "DARK BOLTS!" Devi fired her own attack, but the bright energy met the dark energy right in front of Devi and exploded, throwing Devi back several feet and slamming her into a wall.

"Did we win?" Moon asked in a quiet voice. Her question was answered as Devi started to fade away. "You may have won this battle, but you shall parish with the rest of humanity," were Devi's last words as she faded out of existence.

***

            "So Devi has failed." Kali stated as she felt Devi's energy disappear. "Sauda!"

            Sauda appeared in the room in front of Kali and bowed. "Hai, Kali-sama."

            "Devi has failed, and all nine guardians are on earth. I want you to go there next and finish the energy gathering that Devi started." Kali thought a moment and decided to give one more order. "Do not fight them yourself. Use only yoma."

            "As you wish, Kali-sama." Sauda disappeared from the command room.

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Yay, chapter 12 is finished. It had only been sitting on my work PC for at least a few weeks. I didn't like how it started, but it turned out ok. I may or may not re-write certain parts, but I think I will wait until the story is finished first so as not to keep people waiting.

**Lioness Blackfire** =} thanks for the review. If you get a chance, could you let me know what parts you think need to be expanded? 


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